KNGT
by xSwissChrisx
Summary: When Kobalt wakes up on the island of Patch with no knowledge of who he is or where he's from, he resolves to try and fix his damaged mind. Pointed in the direction of Beacon, Kobalt and his new team set out to uncover the mysteries of his past. But what else will KNGT find along the way? And how much should they have left alone? Takes place 4 years before the events of RWBY.
1. Chapter 1: Kobalt

"What hit me?" were the first words he said when he woke up. The good news was that he could feel everything, unfortunately that was also the bad news. His whole body felt like he had been in a wrestling match with a mountain, and the mountain had won. So what actually _had_ hit him? Though the pain was slowly subsiding, he was still shell shocked, his ears were ringing and his head felt like it was going to explode.

 _I could really go for an ice pack right now._ He thought. _But first things first._

He opened his eyes to find himself on his back in the dirt, partially buried in the in fact. That didn't make any sense, it didn't look like someone had tried to bury him alive there was no one else here with him. He looked upwards to see trees stretching up towards the sky, a few branches missing on them too. That was when he got a better look at his immediate surroundings, he wasn't buried in the ground rather he was sunk in a crater. Of course _that_ made even less sense than being buried alive. He tried to sit up but the pain in his back convinced him that was a bad idea, the best he could do was free himself of some dirt. Instead he rolled over onto his chest and tried to push himself to his feet. He got further than before, but still couldn't push himself all the way. So instead he tried crawling, he made it to the edge of the crater before the pain in his head was all that was left. He sat himself against a tree and caught his breath, pain or no he was exhausted.

"Now then, where the hell am I?" he asked no one in particular. Some forest no doubt, but where? For the life of him he couldn't remember how he got there, or when he got there, or if he had come alone. Every question he asked seemed to drill even more pain into his head, it was impossible for him to remember. That was when the big question finally hit.

"Who am I?" he asked himself, and when he couldn't answer the pain was gone, and immediately replaced with rage.

"Well that's just perfect." He vented out loud "One more thing to worry about."

 _Okay focus damn it, what's the last thing you can remember?_ He thought, clearing his mind of all his questions and his surroundings. He focused back, trying to recall images before he opened his eyes, no specifics just anything he could remember.

He remembered being on an airship, it was falling apart as it fell to the ground. He stood in a doorway open to the outside and was holding on to the edges of the door frame. He was looking out over a large forest, in the distance appeared to be a small town. The ship was rapidly approaching the ground as he watched. He was thinking of ways out without getting himself killed. An explosion rocked the ship and he almost lost his balance, but he managed to steady himself without falling.

But that was all he could remember, he bashed his head in frustration. That was when he realized he was wearing a helmet, after hitting it his vision got clouded with static for a second before it cleared up. _System Reboot_ appeared in bold words in front of him. In the top left of his vision was a yellow bar, probably for Aura level. Above that was a name, **_Kobalt_**. That was his name, he knew it the moment he read it. He pulled off his helmet to get a check his head for injuries. He found a large bump on the back of his head, that was unsurprising but other than that he seemed fine. What kind of helmet didn't protect from serious head injuries? Checking the rest of himself he realized he was wearing some kind of armor, black with blue highlights on the cloth. On his back was a sheathed sword, he felt the hilt with his hand, something about the sword was familiar. But right now his sword was the least of his worries. He didn't even know what to do, he had no clue what he should do.

 _The town,_ he thought. _I might not find answers there but I might find help, maybe a bed._

Given what he could remember about the sun's position, the town would be north of where he was. It was early in the evening now, hopefully he'd make it to the town before nightfall. He stumbled through the woods for a good while before he finally regained his balance.

Unfortunately, his bad luck seemed to be holding so far. He hadn't arrived to the town before the sun had set, instead he got there well after dusk and everyone had already seemed to close their doors. He walked through the town looking for an inn or hotel, not bothering to think on how to pay for a room, but still his luck wasn't changing. He was about to give up and find a tree to climb and sleep in when he heard shouts coming from down the street. He walked down to see a group of three thugs surrounding a single man outside a large church.

"Look old man," Kobalt heard one of them say "Unless you want us to burn the place to the ground you'd better pay up."

"This is a place of worship not a store." The man argued, he must be the priest "We don't make money."

"Shut up," one of the thugs said drawing a weapon "you must have some money saved up for emergencies, I'd say this qualifies."

"For the love of Dust, give us the money before we beat it out of you!" the last one said.

"Okay that's enough" Kobalt said walking between the men and the priest "I suggest you three leave the good Father alone. Unless you'd rather deal with me."

"That's easy to say from behind that helmet." One of them taunted "Why don't you take it off if you're so brave?"

"Father could you hold on to this for me?" he said tossing his helmet behind him "Last chance guys, turn around, right now."

"Three on one?" one of them laughed "Like hell, should've left the helmet on kid, won't be much left of your face soon."

"Alright, just remember, I gave you a way out." Kobalt said. The three thugs circled him, two of them were wielding short machetes and the other some kind of spiked knuckles. Something in the back of Kobalt's head told him this was going to be a piece of cake. He raised his hands, not needing to draw his sword.

The first one to attack was the one with the knuckles, who thought he was being discreet with a sneak attack from behind. But the fool yelled as he attacked giving Kobalt time to turn and kick the man in the chest. He put some kind of power behind it, and the man went flying into a nearby wall. The other two attacked him together. He blocked their attacks with his gauntlets and grabbed their wrists, he pulled them towards each other bashing them together. He locked one of their arms up and punched him square in the face, he went down and tried to back away on his hand and feet. The last guy still had the courage to fight he tried to stab him in the chest, but Kobalt sidestepped and brought one hand down on the man's wrist forcing him to drop the machete. He pinned the man's wrist and stepped in with a short chop to his face, he grabbed the man's neck and kicked his legs out while pulling him down flipping him twice over to land on his ass.

"Come on I'm just getting warmed up." Kobalt laughed as they tried to get back up.

With that they all found the energy to run, and sprinted down the street as fast as they could. "What's the matter, scared of little old' me?" Kobalt shouted as they ran.

"Thank for the help young man." The priest said giving Kobalt his helmet back "Might I ask who you are?"

"Names Kobalt," he said "just glad I could help. Those thugs a problem often?"

"Only recently, I give it a few more days before some Huntsman decides to kick them out of town." The priest said "Please is there anything I could do to repay you?"

Kobalt opened his mouth to speak, but his stomach beat him to the punch. It roared loudly, and he remembered he hadn't eaten since waking up this afternoon.

"How about something to eat?" the priest laughed

"That sounds good, and maybe a place to sleep." Kobalt added "I'm not from here."

"Of course, it's the least I could do." The priest said "My name is Jacobs by the way, please follow me."

Later that night Kobalt went to the bathroom to clean up, Father Jacobs must put a lot of effort into the upkeep of his church because the whole place was in great shape despite its age. The bathroom was fairly modern too.

"I guess even a priest has to update his home occasionally." Kobalt mused.

When he got to the bathroom he took off his armor and got his first look at his own face. He had pale white skin, and swept back dark black hair with a single blue streak in it. His eyes were as blue as the streak in his hair, but the thing that caught his attention was the large scar across his face. Going from the right side of his forehead diagonally down across his left eye to his cheek. He picked up his helmet, and sure enough there was a large cut in the same place on the helmet. What had he been through, he wondered, why was he on that airship. He was surprised how easily he managed to fall asleep that night with all the questions he had on his mind. There wasn't a moment he wasn't trying to remember something or asking himself more questions. Somehow though, he fell asleep within minutes of his head hitting the pillow.

When Kobalt woke up the next morning he put on his armor and climbed to the top of the bell tower. He wanted to see if he could find any signs of the airship crash to go look at, hopefully that would jog his memory. By the clock on his scroll it was already 10:30, a bit late into the morning. He also checked the GPS on his scroll, according to that he was on the island of Patch not far from mainland Vale. The airship had been heading further into Patch when he jumped out, so it would be somewhere to the west. But looking out across the forest he couldn't see any signs of a crash, no smoke or scattered trees, absolutely nothing. He was about to go downstairs and ask Father Jacobs if he'd seen the airship when he heard a commotion beneath him.

 _Not again._ He thought looking down. He had a feeling the thugs would come back eventually, but he didn't think they'd bring their whole gang with them. He counted at least twelve armed men at the door. And Father Jacobs had already opened the door.

"Where is he?" one of the thugs asked "Where's that guy from last night?"

"I'm sorry but he already left," Jacobs lied "He left last night."

"Shut up, we know you're lying," one thug said, he looked like the leader to Kobalt. He was dressed much better than the rest. While most of them had on jackets and jeans, this guy was wearing some old military gear. And the rest of the thugs parted for him to get through.

"We've been watching this building since this friend of yours roughed up my men." He said "Tell him to come out now, or we go in there and get him."

"I'm telling you he already left," Jacobs insisted "maybe your men aren't very good at their jobs."

That almost made Kobalt laugh, he hadn't expected a priest to outright insult even these men. And it was such a passive remark it seemed like he wasn't even trying to make fun of them. Apparently the leader thought it was funny too, because he busted out laughing.

"You may have a point there." He said "But after hearing how three of my men were kicked around like children I made sure the ones I sent to watch the place would do their jobs right."

"Then I don't know what to tell you, perhaps he found some hidden passageway centuries old." Jacobs remarked

"In a fifty year old church? Unlikely, how about this," the leader said as he punched Father Jacobs in the face. "Tell your friend he has one minute to get out here, or I do to you what he did to my men."

The leader drew a small sword from his belt, and stood above Jacobs, ready to strike. Kobalt didn't waste time with stairs, he jumped out the tower and slid down the side of the roof. He jumped again when he saw the leader raise his sword, he fired a burst of energy from his hands to slow his fall, when did he learn to do that? He landed between Jacobs and the crowd of thugs. He raised his arm just as the blade came down to block it. He hit the leader in the chest with an open palm and pushed him back several feet.

"Sorry I'm late, are you alright Father?" Kobalt asked turning his head slightly to check. He had a broken nose but seemed otherwise fine.

"Nothing little medicine and prayer won't fix." His hand up to his face, his nose was definitely broken.

"Get inside, I'll take care of these idiots." Kobalt said drawing his sword at last. A black longsword, its name popping into his head, Arondight.

"Kid you're either slow or stupid," the leader said from the back "I've got twelve men with me, and you're on your own."

"I took on three of your buffoons with my bare hands" Kobalt told the leader "I'm not too worried about one or two more. What's your name?"

"Jack Calico." He answered

"Well then Calico, you can either stay here and be humiliated." Kobalt told him "Or you can walk your ugly ass out of Patch. Your choice."

"Get him boys." Calico snarled

About half of them men rushed him at once, the rest seemed to be hanging back. Kobalt instinctively build up energy in his sword, and when the men just reached him, he drove it into the ground sending out a shockwave disorienting them. He pulled his sword out and went for the nearest one. The second his sword made contact the man's Aura all but shattered and he went flying back. Two more came at him from the front, both wielding machetes, he managed to block all their attacks as they came despite only having one sword. But their attacks were sloppy, and in seconds he found an opening. He flipped his grip on Arondight, bashed one man in the head with its hilt and locked up both of their arms. From there he twisted them and pushed, he heard the sound of their bone's break and knocked them out of the way. He didn't wait for the rest to come after him, he charged at them himself. He sped in on one man bringing his blade up with him, the slice knocked him on his ass. He started building more energy in his blade again, this time saving it for later.

He punched the next man he saw, sliced down and then bashed his forehead with the hilt. That was five down only seven left. Three of them came at him, one from each side. But with the motion tracker in his helmet it didn't matter, he flipped in the air when the two from the sides came in first. He landed on one knee and uppercut the man who came in front of him. He picked up the thug's machete and used it to block one of the attacks that came at him, the other he blocked with his own sword. Kobalt twisted his weapons into those of his opponents, disarming them, he kicked one as the other turned and ran. He flipped the machete around in his hand and threw it at the runner, the hilt hitting him in the back of the head. The last four tried to surround him and charge him all at once. But Kobalt drove his sword into the ground again, this time releasing even more energy creating a larger shockwave. The remaining men were knocked back and out of the fight.

Kobalt turned to the Calico, who stayed out of it till now.

"Maybe the Father was right, your men are bad at their jobs." He said pointing Arondight at him "You any better?"

"Alright you punk, let's do this." Calico said in frustration

He turned his sword into two small pistols and began firing at Kobalt. But the dust rounds were easy to see, and easy to block. After emptying both clips he turned them back into a sword and charged. Kobalt ducked under multiple stabs at his head, and blocked an arc with his own sword. From there he started matching Calico strike for strike, neither of them landing a solid hit. This fight was rapidly turning into a real duel, and it was clear Jack was fairly experienced. But Kobalt's gut told him he was better, much better. He spun with his blade forcing Calico away, he came out of the spin with a dashing stab that Calico barely deflected. But the attack managed to graze Calico's shoulder, causing him to flinch. Kobalt stepped inside his stance, setting him off balance. He flipped his grip again and used it as a hook to pull down Calico, Kobalt kicked his legs out at the same time. But Calico managed to turn to the fall into a roll and came back up on his feet. He came back in and the two locked blades again.

"Now this is a fight!" Kobalt exclaimed, easily enjoying himself

"That all you got kid!" Calico returned

"Tough guy huh? Kobalt taunted "I guess I could take this a bit more seriously, but I'm just starting to have fun."

"Why you little!" Jack yelled as he jumped in the air and tried to bring his sword down on Kobalt's head. But Kobalt met the strike as Calico was still in the air and grabbed his leg when he tried to kick him. He tightened his grip and spun in a circle, letting go after a second sending Calico flying into a nearby wall. Refusing to give up, he got back on his feet and charged back in. Kobalt rolled under a stab and came up behind Calico, he punched Calico in the back and kicked the back of his leg. Calico went down to his knees, Kobalt slashed twice, once right to left, a light attack to weaken Calico's Aura. And lastly, a strong two handed slice down and right shattering it. He flipped Calico over onto his back to see him breathing heavily.

"You done yet?" Kobalt asked him, not a trace of fatigue in his voice. Calico couldn't even get back on his feet he was so exhausted. Kobalt sheathed his sword and offered him a hand up, surprisingly, Calico took it. He doubled over, trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah, I'm done," he said after a second "You are something else kid."

"I'd have to agree." Another voice said behind him, this one slightly slurred. Kobalt hadn't even been looking at his motion tracker he was so absorbed in the fight. He hadn't noticed the new person who was now behind him. He instinctively drew his sword and lightly swung behind him. His blade was met with another, larger sword. Holding it was a man about Kobalt's height, he was unshaven with dark grey hair and he wore a grey dress shirt with a red cape. Everything about the man screamed Huntsman to Kobalt.

"Whoa whoa, easy there kiddo," he said his breath reeking of alcohol "I'm not here to fight."

Kobalt stepped back keeping his sword up, what was this guy doing here.

"If that's true put your sword away." Kobalt said to the newcomer

"Sword?" the man asked confused, he looked at his blade "oh you mean this. Done."

He collapsed the sword and put it on his back, Kobalt sheathed his and noticed Calico had already run off.

"So who are you kid, where you from?" the drunk asked

"Names Kobalt," he answered "And that's an excellent question."

"What you don't know?" he laughed, and that pissed Kobalt off a bit. Before he could say anything though, the man was splashed with water. Kobalt turned to see Father Jacobs holding an empty bucket.

"Hello Qrow," Jacobs said "How are you this morning?"

"Well I was fine up till now," he responded "I already had my clothes washed you know."

"Yes I'm sure, but you're much easier to deal with after being doused with cold Holy Water." Jacobs told him "More sober too."

"I take it you know him Father?" Kobalt asked

"This is Qrow, a Huntsman and teacher over at Signal academy." Jacobs said

"A Huntsman huh? Figured as much." Kobalt asked "You see an airship crash down nearby?"

"Airship?" Qrow asked "No that'd be kinda hard to miss, why?"

"What about me," Kobalt said taking off his helmet "Have you ever seen me before, maybe at Signal?"

"'Fraid not kid, and I'd like to think I would at least recognize my student's faces." He answered "Why are you asking?"

"I woke up the other day having lost my memory." He told him "Last thing I remember is being on a falling airship."

"Sorry but I haven't seen any ships around." Qrow hiccupped "But you've definitely got Huntsman skills, you've got to be from one of the combat schools. Try applying to Beacon maybe someone there knows ya."

"How would he even get in?" Jacobs asked "He doesn't have a transcript and hasn't taken the entrance exam. The first semester begins in a week."

"I've helped students practice for that exam, and I'd say he's fine." Qrow said "Plus Ozpin and I go way back, I'll vouch for the kid."

"Why?" Kobalt couldn't help but ask "What do you get out of this?"

"Well for one I'm a Huntsman it's my job to help people, and I like to think I'm good at my job." Qrow said, taking a swig of his flask "And two, the last time I saw a swordsman of that caliber at your age, he went on to become the Headmaster of one of the best academies in Remnant"

"Ozpin?" Kobalt asked curiously, the name and headmaster title ringing a bell. Qrow answered him with a laugh.

"Oz with a sword, wouldn't that be a sight to see." He laughed so hard he almost doubled over "Try Haven's headmaster. Send your application ASAP kid, I'll talk to Oz, consider yourself a member of Beacon academy. Congratulations."

With that Qrow walked off laughing and muttering _Oz with a sword_.

"Is he always like that?" Kobalt asked Father Jacobs after Qrow was gone.

"Only when he drunk." The Father responded

"Well that's not too…" Kobalt started

"He's always drunk." Jacobs said cutting him off "But he is a good man. Come, you can stay with me until you leave for Beacon, unless you'd prefer to stay at an inn."

"With all due respect Father, I know you more than some innkeeper." Kobalt said "And I know you won't charge me for a temporary room."

The next few days had been fairly quiet around Patch, Kobalt got a confirmation from Beacon that he'd been accepted within days of sending his application. Qrow stopped by again and joked about how he had to convince Ozpin's head professor that letting him in was a good idea too.

"She's always had stick… I mean been a stickler for the rules." He said "Had to show her a recording I took of your little duel to drive my point home."

"You were recording me?" Kobalt asked

"Of course, seeing that guy get his butt handed to him on a silver platter was priceless." Qrow laughed

And soon Kobalt found himself stepping threw the door of one of Beacon's airships, not entirely sure as to what he was doing. He felt out of place here, everyone inside seemed excited and happy, while he probably stood out from everyone. But he needed answers, and this was his best shot, hell it was his only shot.

 _Let's see if anyone knows me._ He thought walking further into the ship. _Not like I've got anything left to lose._


	2. Chapter 2: Beacon

Today was the day, the day Nickole left for Beacon and began her real training. Her family had done the best they could, but they were warriors not teachers. And very few of them had been to Beacon, only one actually. Which was one of the reasons Nickole went to visit her older brother in his room.

"Auburn?" she asked as she knocked on his door "You in there?"

"Yeah doors unlocked!" he called from inside the room. She opened the door to see her older brother already up and at his desk. He turned his wheelchair towards her as she walked in. He'd gotten better at using it these past few years, and he'd even grown his hair out. His reddish brown hair now hung down to his shoulders in a mess.

"Getting nervous yet?" he asked her "You leave in a few hours right?"

"A little bit, figured I'd come see how you were doing." She said "And see if you had any advice for me."

"I'm fine, organizing missions for some of the Huntsmen out there." He said looking back as his desk, the whole desk was glowing with his dozen or so monitors lit up. It looked like the command center of an airship "And if I were to give you any advice, lighten up. You're about to start a huge chapter in your life, go have fun, make some friends. And for the love of Dust let your hair down."

To emphasize his point he reached behind her head and took off the clasp that held her hair up, letting it fall down past her shoulders.

"I'm not going there to make friends." She argued, reaching to get her clasp back

"Well you should make them anyways, Dust knows you could use them." he said throwing her clasp out the window. Then he noticed she had her weapons with her.

"Still carrying my shield huh?" he asked, getting serious.

"I told you I will find them," she said "I won't allow them to get away with what they've done."

"Dad's been searching for the last ten years to try and find them and he hasn't found a trace of them." Auburn told her

"I'm not dad." She argued

"No you're not, you're a seventeen year old girl who hasn't even started, let alone finished a semester at Beacon." He said his voice raising "I don't want to see you get hurt too."

"Look I didn't come here to get lectured by you too." she told him, and turned to leave.

"No, you came here for advice about Beacon." He said "Do you want it or not?"

She stopped herself at the door, he knew just how to play her. She begrudgingly turned around and crossed her arms.

"Fine," she said

"There is a reason you should be making friends you know." He told her "The professors will put you in teams of four. And you'll be a part of that team for your whole time at Beacon. No if ands or buts about it."

"But how will they put us in teams within the first few days?" she asked "They can't just randomly assign people."

"Yes and no, initiation will be how they assign the teams." He said "Now listen carefully, if you meet someone whose team you want to be on, make sure you get the matching relic or partner up with them from the start. I'll let you figure out the rest"

"And if I don't meet someone I want to be on the same team as?" she asked

"Then grab a relic and…" he started

"See where the wind takes you." she finished for him.

"You'll be fine." He smiled "Just be yourself. How are your runes doing?"

"I've gotten the hang of four more, and I've been working on four others." She told him "They're getting harder to materialize, and none are as strong as my first."

"You can't rely on that one rune forever. It's good and all, but if you limit yourself to that single rune you'll never grow as a Huntress." He told her "you never know when you might need to do something new with it. Hell I still practice with my semblance."

"You do?" she asked "Why?"

"Hey I can still use mine sitting down." He said spinning a small cyclone in his hand "You never know when I might need it, I'm still technically a Huntsman. If I can do any good with my power even if I'm just strolling through Vale and someone needs a cat out of a tree I should be able to help."

Nickole could help but laugh when he said that.

"What?" he asked

"Nothing, I'm just picturing you using a tornado to get a cat of a tree now." She laughed

"Shut up, and get going or you'll miss the airship at this rate." He said, insulted

"She'll be fine" said a voice in the door. Nickole turned around to see her father standing in the doorway. He must have just gotten back from his mission, his silver armor was scratched up and his robes underneath were cut in more than a few places. He took his hood off as he entered the room. His face still had patches of dirt on it, and a small cut on his nose.

"Dad, you're back early." Auburn said, "I'm surprised you managed to pull that off."

"How do you think I got so banged up? Besides I couldn't miss my daughter's last day at home before going to Beacon." He said walking in, he turned to Nickole "You're ready, more ready than you need to be. You grew up so fast these past few years."

"She didn't give herself much choice." Auburn commented

"True, you've pushed yourself pretty hard the past ten years." her father smiled, he bent down and gave her a hug "Still I'm proud of you, I know I don't say that often enough."

"Thanks dad." she said "I won't let you down."

"No you won't, I never have to worry about that." He laughed "Now, don't you have an airship to catch?"

Nickole looked at the time, she still had an hour to make it to the airship. It was plenty of time but still she felt rushed, as though she wasn't ready. As if sensing her discomfort her father smiled again.

"Listen to me, you can do this." He said putting a hand on her shoulder "Never doubt yourself, if you can only believe in one person, it must be yourself and no one else."

"You've got this." Her brother said behind her "And leave your hair down, it looks better."

"Fine, but only if you cut your hair." She teased him

"What's wrong with my hair?" Auburn asked as their father laughed

"Thank you," she said leaving "Both of you."

Within a half an hour she had boarded the airship and was on her way to Beacon. The ride felt like it lasted forever, but in thirty short minutes she had arrived at Beacon. This was the first time she was one her own, she had never been this deep without someone in the family there with her. She was already getting nervous again.

 _Believe in yourself._ She reminded herself, she could do this. She got off the airship on her own and noticed a lot of other people were by themselves too. She wasn't the only one here on their own. But before she could work on this new found observation, she saw a guy in sliver armor and blue clothes run down the courtyard. Running behind him was a group of girls who appeared to be chasing him, they plowed through other people in their path. One person didn't seem to notice them though, they nailed him in the shoulder sending the helmet he was carrying out of his hands. It flew through the air and landed next to her feet.

"Hey watch it!" he yelled after them

"This yours?" she asked picking it up, it had a huge gash down the front of it.

"Yeah thanks." The guy said walking over, sure enough he had a scar on his face the same shape and size. He was wearing black armor with a grey pelt over his shoulders.

"Heck of a first day huh? Aren't these a bit outdated?" She asked pointing to the helmet as he approached.

"Put it on and you'll see." He said with a smirk. It was a bit big for her, but she was able to get the helmet on. At first she thought the visor hadn't come down, then she remembered it didn't have a visor. Then she noticed it had a HUD and Aura meter.

"That's incredible!" she said. She looked around with the helmet on, there was a name above the meter "Kobalt, that's your name?"

"Yep," he said extending his hand "Pleasure to meet you…."

"Nickole," she said taking the helmet off and shaking his hand "How'd you do pull off the HUD?"

"No idea," he laughed taking it back.

"What do you mean?" she asked "Didn't you make it?"

"No clue, I woke up a while back without my memories." He said "Had that helmet with me at the time, same as the rest of my gear."

"So why are you here, and not out trying to find some clues?" she asked, she realized that was probably a bit to personal but she was curious.

"Couldn't find any," he said "But a Huntsman recommended I apply here. He figured someone here might recognize me. No one's recognized me yet, unless you were pretending not to know me."

"Nope, sorry." She laughed

"Well none on the ship recognized me either." he said "And you're the first person to talk to me so far."

"So no luck, nothing around here seem familiar?" she asked "Or any faces?"

"Afraid not." He said leading the way to the auditorium. "As far I know I don't have a single friend here."

"Well that's better than me," she said trying to cheer him up "I **know** I don't have a single friend here."

"Well at the very least we both know one person now." He said as they entered the auditorium.

"Fair enough." She said, she would've kept talking with him but at that moment Professor Ozpin walked up to the mic to make his opening speech. For a second she remembered something her brother told her the other week.

 _Don't read too hard into Oz's speech,_ _he gives the same one every year and everyone takes it the wrong way._ He had said, _Listen carefully, and you'll see what he means._

"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." Ozpin started, but then his voice became cold. "But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

"He's not wrong." Kobalt said next her "It's all on us from here, they could teach us everything there is to know. But if we don't give it everything we have it'll be for nothing."

"It's like your reading my mind." She laughed "Well I don't know about you but I'm starving, you know where the dining hall is?"

"I don't know who I am, you think I know where the dining hall here is?" he laughed

The next morning was about what Nickole expected for the most part. After she had armored up and grabbed her weapons, everyone was called for initiation. But she noticed something strange, report to the cliffs? What did they have planned for the students? She thought Auburn had told her everything about the initiation, but then she realized that would be incredibly unfair. And her brother generally lived by the rules, he must've left something out. When she got to the cliff they had everyone lined up on metal platforms with Beacon's emblem on them. She had lost track of Kobalt last night and forgotten to add him on her scroll. She couldn't spot him in the line either.

"I'll cut to the chase for the sake of your patience." Ozpin said walking in front of everyone. "I'm sure many of you have been wondering how we assign your partners and teams. Well this is how."

He motioned to the Emerald forest, a place known to be home to uncountable amounts of Grimm.

"You've been trained for years at combat academies or by individual experts." Ozpin continued "Now it's time for your first real test, be warned there are no safety nets here."

"As far as the assignment of your partners that is another part of your test." Professor Goodwitch said walking up next to Ozpin "The partners you make today will be with you for the entirety of you time here at Beacon."

"That being said the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be one of your partners for the next four years." Ozpin said, Auburn had left that out Nickole realized.

 _Wait, landing?_

"Once you land proceed to the northern end of the forest, you will find a temple with relics." Ozpin said "Each pair will chose a relic and return to the cliffs. I shouldn't have to warn most of you about the inhabitants of that forest. Any questions? Good! Take your positions."

Nickole had to think fast, people down the row were getting launched already. She should've realized the plates were springboards, it was too late for that now though. She was still thinking on how to survive when she was launched. The first thing she did was spread her arms and legs to slow her fall. Now she had to think of some way to live though the fall, part of her thought she could survive by using her shield to protect her from the trees and slow her fall. But she wasn't sure if that would work. Of course she knew one way that would definitely work, but her timing would have to be perfect. She covered her fist with her other hand and began to focus, her runeguard would be more than strong enough to protect her. But she wouldn't be able to move while she cast it, and it would only last for at most ten seconds. On the bright side she didn't have to worry about moving, she was already plummeting towards the ground. And she was within a few seconds of becoming paste on the ground now.

"Well it's now or never."

She channeled her runes both in front and behind her, a set of runes appeared. Dark gold and shaped like a circle with ellipses inside and circles at the edge of the ellipses, they passed through her giving her body a bright gold glow. She crashed through the trees, shattering each one she hit, until she landed in a clearing. She landed just in time to, because just as she did the rune wore off. She started to stand up when she felt a presence behind her.

"Heads up!" someone yelled behind her. She instinctively rolled away in time for a guy in gold armor to fly right where she was before and the stop instantly as he fired his weapon. He landed in front of her and she got a good look at him, his gold armor was even more ornate than hers was, and his weapon was a huge spear that seemed to double as some kind of cannon. He had dark red hair tied up in the back into a long tail and his bangs parted around his face.

"You alright?" he asked as he landed, something in his voice sounded generally angry. And his face had a dark expression to it, his eyes just as cold.

 _And that's decided_ she thought _here's hoping I can find Kobalt along the way._

"Yeah I'm fine." She said standing up

"Sorry about that," he said his voice still sounding pissed "names Justin, Justin Titian."

"Nickole Gareth." She introduced herself. "Not a bad landing strategy there."

"It works well enough," he said loading a new round into his spear "Wastes a…"

He was interrupted by the growl of beowolves. She immediately drew her sword and shield and jumped over to Justin. A pack of beowolves emerged from the woods and surrounded them.

"You any good with that spear in a fight?" she asked him

"Funny I was about to ask you the same thing." He said still as serious as ever.

"Just watch and find out." She smirked.

She didn't wait for the beowolves to move in, that wasn't her style. She preferred to make the first move. She charged in hacked the head off one beowolf before they could even move. She blocked an attack from the left with her shield and transformed Damocles into its rifle form. She fired a hail of bullets at a beowolf to her right, and bashed in the head of the one on her left with her shield. Transforming Damocles again she spun and brought the blade down across its body, cutting it in two. She heard a cannon shot go off, and next to her Justin appeared, his spear already piercing a beowolf's chest. He sliced it out and spun, hitting another two wolves as they jumped in. She charged at the last wolf, running a rune along her blade as she did. A dark red circular rune with lines darting across the inside. Her blade began to glow the same dark red and left a trail as she stabbed it into the beowolf. She released the energy of the rune and the wolf exploded in a shower of red sparks.

"Not bad at all." Justin said as she sheathed her weapons. "Come on let's get to that temple, the sooner the better."

"Why the rush?" she asked, feeling she already knew the answer.

"I planned on meeting my brother there," he said "Hopefully I can still end up on his team."

"Oh, funny I planned on doing something similar." She said

"Boyfriend?" he asked

"No just a friend." She said, her face probably turning a bit red "Lost track of him though, I planned to wait for him at the temple. Plus I know how they pick the teams, so I can guarantee we wind up on the same one."

"That so?" he asked "Tell you what, we'll wait at the temple and whichever person were waiting for shows up first we team up with. Deal?"

"I guess that's fair." She said "So what's your brother like?"

"He's a lot different from me," Justin said "You'll probably like him."

"Why's that?" she asked

"All the girls like Tristan, they always have." He said

"Wait, does he wear silver armor with a blue jacket?" she asked

"Yeah why?" Justin asked

"I saw him being chased by a group of girls yesterday." She said "And for the record I generally don't like guys like that, they don't care about all the girls fawning over them."

"Oh he's not like that, he doesn't even try to get attention." Justin said "In fact he gets bothered by it."

"Yeah I'm sure he says that." Nickole muttered

It took them a little under an hour to find the temple Ozpin had mentioned. I was more of a small rotunda, with about two dozen small pedestals. On each pedestal was what looked like a small figurines. Once she got a closer look, she noticed there were two different colors of all the figurine, gold and black.

"What the…?" Justin asked aloud "These are the relics?"

"They're game pieces." Nickole realized seeing they were all soldiers or knights and the like. "From that old board game, Imperial Conquest."

She used to play that a lot with Auburn after he was attacked.

"Alright then, so what's the secret to ending up on someone's team, I imagine it has to do with the relics."

"Yeah, we need a matching pair." She said checking all the figurines "Is there a gold knight over there?"

"Hang on," Justin said checking, he tossed a figure to her "Got it."

"Great, that was easy." She said as she caught the knight "Now we wait."

She jumped up on to the circular top of the rotunda and sat down. Justin leaned back on one of the pillars and closed his eyes.

"Might as well get comfortable, they might be a while" he said as serious as ever. This guy was going to get on her nerves after a while. He meant well but he was way to serious all the time. She almost hoped his brother was like he said, if only to have someone more laid back on her team.

"We might as well." she agreed, but the moment she did she heard the sounds of something crashing through the trees and turned her gun to face it. Two guys came crashing through the trees with weapons in hand. One was the guy in silver from the other day, Tristan apparently, and the other was Kobalt.


	3. Chapter 3: A New Beginning

Kobalt had to admit, the whole falling thing was starting to get on his nerves. He'd already lost his memory after one fall, he was determined not to let that happen again. As he approached the forest he put his hand out in front of him and let out a blast of energy. It slowed him down enough for him to land on a thick branch on a tree. He checked his Aura, it was down a little but he hadn't taken a hit. He was right about his power then, it drained his Aura each time he used it. He'd have to manage it carefully from now on.

"Incoming!" a voice interrupted his thoughts, and Kobalt turned to see a guy flying at him. He looked like he had no idea how he was going to land safely, so Kobalt stuck out his arm and opened his hand. The guy seemed to get the message pretty quick, and in the split second before he would've shot past Kobalt, he managed to grab his arm. Kobalt turned the guy's momentum into a spin that he barely managed to slow before he started drilling into the tree branch.

"Thanks for that." The guy said locking eyes with Kobalt though his helmet. "Name's Tristan, I owe you one…"

"Kobalt, not a problem man." He said looking him over. He was wearing sliver armor on his left arm and silver greaves. Over what looked like a sliver chestplate was a digital blue jacket and a red scarf. "Wait a minute, you're that guy from yesterday."

"You might have to be more specific than that." Tristan said

"The guy being chased by the mob of girls," Kobalt said "The same mob that knocked my helmet out of my hands."

"Oh sorry about at that" Tristan laughed awkwardly "I didn't mean to be chased or for them to hurt anyone else. At least you got your helmet back, so no hard feelings right?"

"Hey don't worry about it I was just saying they knocked my helmet away," Kobalt laughed "Just giving you a hard time man. Good to meet you."

"Oh thank God, with that tone of yours and the helmet I thought you were legitimately pissed." Tristan laughed "Come on that temple is to the north right?"

"I think that's what Ozpin said, yeah. And my HUD says … that ways is north." Kobalt said pointing deeper into the forest.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Tristan said jumping out of the tree and raising his rifle "Let's get going."

"That's more like it." Kobalt said jumping down "come on, I bet we can get there before anyone else too."

"I'll scout on ahead and stay out of sight." Tristan said "I'll shout if I need help."

"I have a better idea," Kobalt said pulling out his scroll "Link up with me, it'll feed your location to me on my HUD. And let me open a com channel with your scroll."

"Yeah that's a better idea." Tristan laughed as he touched the back of his scroll to Kobalt's. Instantly, Tristan was outlined in blue and the motion sensor changed to blue as well. In the top corner, beneath his own Aura level was another one, Tristan's. After that Tristan himself faded from sight, leaving only his HUD outline visible.

"I'll keep in touch over the scrolls then." He said as the outline bounded of ahead "Try not to get in trouble."

The next half hour or so was filled with Tristan trying to chat with Kobalt. He asked him what he knew about Beacon and its professors, which in the short time he had to look them up, wasn't much. But he told him what he knew, most of the professors were very accomplished Huntsmen or Huntresses. And Ozpin's head professor was apparently very strict.

"I think that was her at the cliffs with Ozpin." Tristan said

"Yeah she seemed just like how Qrow described her." Kobalt added

"Wait you know Qrow?" Tristan asked

"Yeah met him when I applied to Beacon." Kobalt said, leaving out that it was last week. "How do you know him?"

"He's one of the professors at Signal, I met him when I went there for a tournament." Tristan said, then his tone shifted "Heads up you've got incoming, a group of ursa just ran past me, they're headed your way."

"Got it, I'm moving to the clearing we passed through, think you can cover me if I'm there?"

"Kobalt my good man, I can cover you where you are right now." He said

"Really? Well then let's see if you're as good as you think you are." Kobalt said "Get ready, I'm going to ambush them as the run through."

With that Kobalt hopped up into a tree and waited. His motion sensor was picking up five targets headed his way from the north. The moment the first ursa came into view, Kobalt leapt out of the tree and planted his boots into its head. He jumped back, landing in front of it and pulled out his sword. Five ursa, even small ones like these, could be a problem the longer this fight went on the worse it was likely to get for him. Kobalt had to end this quickly. He channeled energy though his blade and hacked at the first ursa, cutting its head off. But the move drained a good portion of his Aura, he put a lot of energy in to take that one ursa out of the fight. The other four were advancing cautiously, clearly weary of Kobalt.

"Hit the first one on my left. And keep me covered" Kobalt said into the com as he charged the one on his right. Sure enough and as he stabbed the ursa, a bolt of energy shot out of the woods and hit the arm of the ursa on his left. The round tore off the rest of the arm just before it could hit Kobalt. He continued to unleash hell on the ursa in front of him as Tristan continued to blow of the arms of the ursa trying to hit him.

 _That's some firepower._ Kobalt thought as he focused a ball of energy in his fist and drove it into the ursa he'd attacked. He opened his palm and let the energy explode out. The ursa fell to the ground, its innards vaporized. Only two left, this was going fast.

"Fire at will." Kobalt called out, the next moment another round impacted the head of the ursa to his right. But this one came from a whole new direction. Tristan must have changed positions after his first shot.

"Was that one Will?" Tristan laughed. Another round blew off the leg of the last ursa and Kobalt threw his sword into its head.

"Nope that one was." Kobalt said pulling his blade out. Tristan emerged from the woods perfectly visible. "Good thing you're better at shooting then making jokes."

"Damn, I wanted to finish off Will." He said with a smile on his face, clearly not hearing the rest of what Kobalt had said. "Come on, I think I found the temple."

"Really? That was faster than I thought it would be." Kobalt said

"So where'd you learn to fight like that?" Tristan asked "That was some impressive swordsmanship."

"I wish I knew." Kobalt said finally dropping the bomb, "I woke up a week ago with no memory. Qrow saw me fighting off some thugs and told me to go to Beacon. Figured I might know someone here."

"Let me guess, no one does?" Tristan asked

"Nope, no one seems to know who I am." He said "Maybe one of the professors will recognize me or something."

"That really sucks man, sorry to hear that." Tristan said "On the bright side you got an awesome guy like me for your partner. Come on were almost there."

A few minutes later they arrived at the spot Tristan said was the temple. But Kobalt had his doubts, first of all, it was a giant hole in the ground. And they couldn't even see the bottom of the pit.

"You sure this is it?" Kobalt asked "it might be made of stone, but there are other ruins around here. This might not be it."

"What else could it be?" Tristan asked "Maybe its part of the test, we have to get down there and get back with the relics."

"I seriously doubt that, but I do wonder what's down there." Kobalt thought aloud "You got a match?"

"Yeah why?" Tristan said handing him one. Kobalt lit it and dropped it down the hole. It lit up the walls as it fell, eventually hitting the bottom. There were no relics down there, nor was there any way back up. But there was the largest Grimm Kobalt had seen yet. It walked on all fours, and had a long thin tail. Its head, shoulders, and claws were covered in the standard white plate of the Grimm.

"So still want to go down there?" Kobalt asked

"Pass." Tristan said looking over the edge.

"Agreed, now let's find the real…." Kobalt was cut off by the roar of the Grimm in the hole. He looked down to see it looking back up at them. It stood up on its hind legs with its front against the wall. Before Kobalt could say _let's go_ , it started pressing its claws into the wall, and climbing up.

"We may want to run." Kobalt said taking off to the north.

"Right behind you!" Tristan yelled already ahead of him

Kobalt lost track of how long they were running for, but he heard the Grimm roaring somewhere behind them. He was sure it didn't know where they were, but he didn't want to stay around long for it to happen across them. Their run ended when the burst through the trees into a clearing.

"Think we lost it?" Tristan asked out of breath.

"I think were good," Kobalt said looking up "And I think we found the temple."

There were already two people there, a guy with long dark red hair and gold armor, and Nickole. It was good to see someone he knew, even if they'd just met yesterday.

"Good of you to make it Tristan." The guy said walking up to him, he seemed dead serious "thought you were going to be late."

"Take a chill pill bro." Tristan told him, still out of breath.

"What are the odds," Nickole said, jumping off the temple, "We'd been waiting for one of you to show up. What are the odds you'd wind up partners?"

"Waiting, what for?" Kobalt asked

"Well, Justin here wanted to be on the same team as his brother." She said pointing to the guy in gold "And I was hoping to be on the same team as someone I already know."

"You two are brothers?" Kobalt asked surprised, they looked nothing alike.

"I'm adopted," Justin said clearing that up.

"Wait, same team?" Kobalt asked again "How did you plan on getting on the same team as us?"

"It's easy when you know how they decide what team to put you on." Nickole said tossing him a white figurine "hang on to that, it's the relic. And link your scrolls up, might as well do it now."

"These are the relics?" Tristan asked pulling out his scroll "I expected golden idols or something, with booby-traps."

"Sorry, but this isn't some Valewood movie," Nickole said "Come on let's get back to the cliffs."

"I don't think it's going to be that simple." Tristan said looking to the west.

"Whys that?" Nickole asked, Justin pointed to where Tristan was looking. Just coming into the clearing now were four girls running as fast as they could. Behind them was a huge Death Stalker Grimm.

"Is it part of initiation to be chased by big Grimm or something?" Tristan asked

"So that's a thing." Kobalt said drawing his blade and charging in. Those girls looked exhausted, they must've been running for a long time. He ran in, hacked at the Death Stalker to get its attention and ran it away from the girls.

"Justin, think you can pierce this thing's armor with that stick?" he called out

"Get me an opening!" he yelled back

"Done." Kobalt sheathed his blade and stood in front of the giant Grimm. When it tried to hit him with his pincers he threw his hands out and charged the Aura around them with energy. The result was a shield from the attack, he turned it into a grip on the pincers to hold it still. It would've been the perfect, if it hadn't been for the stinger now descending on him. He cursed himself for forgetting about it, he was about to jump back when he saw the friendly icon on his motion sensor shoot forward. Nickole landed on top of the Grimm with her shield raised. She had somehow managed to get there in an instant to block the attack.

"Damn, you're pretty reckless aren't you?" she asked him

"Little bit." He said, struggling to keep the Grimm held down. "Any second now Justin!"

Before he could say anything else, Kobalt heard the sound of a huge cannon shot go off. The next instant, Justin was standing behind Nickole, his spear sunk into the Stalker's head. Kobalt released his grip and Nickole jumped back.

"You all okay?" Kobalt turned and asked the girls. They were already ignoring him and fawning over Tristan, with the exception of one who was grabbing relics.

"Wow you weren't kidding Justin." Nickole said "That was fast."

"Hey thanks for the help there," the girl said walking over to them, she had pale green hair, and was lightly tanned. She was wearing a light chest piece over a white dress. At her hip was a short sword. "Names Jasmine, we happened across that thing on the way here. I'd say it spooked us, but that would be an understatement."

"No worries, you should've seen the Grimm we ran from." Kobalt laughed "Thing was huge, with claws the size of my head."

"Yikes," she said as they walked back to the rest of the group "hey girls I got the relics!"

"Alright let's get out of here." The girl with purple hair said, she was wearing a light purple tunic and jeans. She had what looked like a huge water skin in place of a backpack with her.

"Agreed, I'm done with this forest." The girl with platinum blonde hair said. She was wearing light gold armor over a skirt with knee high boots. The last girl was pretty quiet, she had pink hair and wore light red tank top over shorts and a small skirt with guards over knees and gloves. She was clearly a Faunus too, a pair of red cat ears stuck out of the top of her head. At her hip was a small rod that looked like it was a collapsed weapon.

"Um guys…" she said raising her hand to point "We've got a problem."

They all turned to see the Grimm Kobalt and Tristan had woken up earlier, it had found them.

"And now this is happening, great!" Kobalt yelled sarcastically. He was about to charge at it when all of a sudden it was surrounded in light. At its feet a large circle with a cross sticking out of it glowed a bright orange.

"I've got it locked down." Nickole said, her voice strained. Her hands were extended making the shape of a circle pointed towards the Grimm. "I don't know how you found a Kalkros out here, but it looks pissed. You should be running."

"What about you?" Kobalt asked

"I have to keep it in the circle in my hand or the rune will break." She said "I can't run and keep it up at the same time."

"Well I'm not leaving you behind, can you keep it up if someone carries you?" he asked

"You'd have to hold me pretty steadily," she said, her face was a bit red.

"Done." Kobalt said as he lifted her over his shoulder and held on to her back. "You good?"

"Well your shoulder could be more uncomfortable," she said "The fur helps."

"Oh Kobalt you gallant knight," Tristan joked

"Shut it, which way back to the cliffs?" he asked

"I think I saw a way back west of where we were launched." Jasmine said "Amethyst, Carmen, care to take point?"

"On it," said the girl with purple hair, "and I told you, call me Amy."

"Um, okay." Carmen said nervously

"Nickole, how long do you think you can keep that up?" Kobalt asked as they ran.

"Half an hour, maybe, but that's with everything I've got." She said "And assuming I don't lose contact."

"Then we'd better move quickly." He said picking up his pace, he tried to keep her as steady as he could, but he didn't like the idea of her draining herself to keep the Grimm still.

Fifteen minutes out they were starting to encounter more ruins like the temple, only much larger. They hadn't been attacked by Grimm the whole time too, they must've been repelled by the group of eight. None of them had talked much thus far, but it gave Kobalt time recharge and to reflect on the people who would apparently become his team. Tristan was clearly an experienced marksman that much he knew, but if he already knew Justin then they could work together pretty well. Justin must be pretty experienced with that spear, and pretty strong to use it, the thing was huge. And Nickole clearly used runes to fight with her sword and shield, and it must be a strong shield to take a Death Stalker hit like it was nothing.

"Oh no, Kobalt put me down." Nickole said interrupting his thoughts "I lost the connection."

"You did?" he asked as he put her down "You heard her people, we might want to pick up the pace."

"We've got a pretty good lead on it by now." Doré said "I think we're good."

"I thought the same thing earlier." Tristan said "That thing still found us somehow."

"We're not far now," Jasmine said "I can see the path up from here."

She was right not too far ahead of them was a bridge leading to a set of ruins that looked like some kind of old arena. Behind that was a winding staircase leading up. Along the forest path there were pillars that seemed to support an old wall.

"Let's get moving, who knows what else could be out here." Amethyst said

As if on cue, some kind of Grimm roared, and the support for one of the walls was cut in half. A section of the wall started to fall over on top of them, most of them were out of the way. But Carmen was still under, and frozen with fear. Before he could tell her to run the wall stopped in its tracks. Standing above Carmen was Justin, holding up the broken section of the wall.

"What, how are you…?" Carmen tried to ask

"Running current through my body." Justin said through gritted teeth "move, quickly."

It was clear that Justin wouldn't last long under the wall, he was already showing signs of stress. Kobalt dashed over to the side of the wall and charged an attack. He punched the wall, sending a shockwave through it making a section of it crumble, allowing the rest of the wall to slide off Justin.

"Sorry if I stole you're thunder there," he said "But it looked like you were having some trouble."

"Thanks," Justin said "What was that thing?"

"No idea," Kobalt said "Let's get moving before it comes back."

"Agreed." Carmen said "And thanks."

"Don't mention it." Justin said "Just doing the right thing."

Their nice little moment was cut short when the Kalkros burst through the trees and roared at them.

"This thing doesn't give up does it?" Tristan asked

"Everyone move to the bridge!" Kobalt yelled over its roar. They barely made it there before it managed to catch up with them. Kobalt, Nickole and Amethyst took the front to cover everyone else. Amethyst opened her pack and released a large amount of water, in an instant it had all turned into a deep purple crystal shield in front of them. She moved it as the Kalkros attacked to try and block. Kobalt took every opportunity he could to get a hit in, but this thing was tough. He turned around to see if they could make it to the stairs before anyone got hurt, and was very disappointed.

"Nickole, please tell me that's a statue behind us." He asked her, she turned around to see what he was talking about. He hoped it was, after all it was standing very still.

"Nope that's a Manticore." She said

"The hell's a Manticore?" Kobalt asked

"Well it's a large and very fast Grimm." Nickole grunted blocking a hit from the Kalkros "Faster than this one actually."

"So now we've got two large Grimm to deal with," Jasmine said "That perfect."

"That one's not just going to sit there forever." Kobalt said "Way I see we've got two options here."

"What are they?" she asked

"Well we could focus this one, and hope the Manticore doesn't attack us from behind." he said dodging the Kalkros' claw "Or we split up, keep the Kalkros from moving in on the other group while they kill the other one."

"I don't see any other way," Jasmine agreed "You go, the girls and I will hold the Kalkros here."

"We'll try to make it fast." Nickole said as they backed away "Look on the bright side, it can't really maneuver right there."

"Tristan, Justin, on me." he said moving in on the Manticore "Let's see if we can't kill that thing."

"Challenge accepted." Tristan yelled as he jumped up to a high pillar and began firing at the Manticore.

"Well he's enthusiastic at least." Nickole joked as they all ran in

That was when Kobalt got his first good look at the monster. It was large yes, but unlike the Kalkros it was slim, less like a large wolf and more like a cat. Coming horizontally out of its jaw were two long blades that looked like they ought to be curved swords. Its tail whipped back and forth above its body while it crouched waiting. Without warning the tail flicked towards them and a huge spike was sent rushing towards Kobalt. He barely managed to get his sword up in time to deflect the spike. That was when the Manticore pounced at them, its sheer speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye it was on top of them, Kobalt rolled under a claw and Nickole managed to block an attack with her shield. Justin tried to use the opening to get a hit in, but his spear bounced off the plate on its back. That was bad news, that spear could pierce a Death Stalker's armor but not this things apparently. Kobalt's mind went into overdrive trying to think of ways to kill this thing quickly, but nothing came to mind. He knew nothing about the damn thing other than its speed and armor.

His only chance was to try and learn something about the Manticore here and now, so he charged it. Rather than face him head on, the monster leapt back away from him and fired off a volley of spikes. Nickole stepped in and blocked them with her shield, with it sitting still, Tristan managed to land a few shots on it. The Manticore ignored most of them, but one struck it between sections of its plate. It roared in anger, the same roar they heard when the wall fell over. That told Kobalt two things, one it was faster than he thought if it could move from the wall to here without him noticing. And two, it was extremely weak where its plate didn't cover. And a good portion of its face wasn't covered. Kobalt charged in again, send a blast behind him to speed himself forward. He managed to get a single good slice in before the tail whipped around and threw him into a nearby pillar. Nickole managed to catch him with one of her runes before he hit the ground.

"Damn that thing is tough," she said as he ran over "How are we supposed to kill it?"

"I'm working on that." He said, looking at his HUD everyone's Aura was fine, but it wouldn't stay that way forever. Tristan was till firing away, and Justin was now trying to hit it with the rounds from his spear, which he had impaled in the ground to stop the recoil.

"We need to get it to hold still, if I can get in its face it's finished." He said "We just need something to pin it down for a bit."

"Justin's spear." Nickole suggested

"That could work. Justin!" Kobalt called "Think you can pin that thing down with your spear?"

"Not a chance, that thing would hear me coming a mile away." Justin said "It's too fast for me to hit if it knows I'm coming. I'd need to surprise it."

"Or you need more speed." Nickole said

"Got something for me?" Kobalt asked

"One of my runes, my best one." She said "It accelerates anything passing through it, immensely. Doesn't work well with energy, but physical objects are fine."

"Do it, both of you get set." Kobalt said switching to his com "Tristan, there's a small part of the tail that's not covered in plate, you see it?"

"Just at the base of the tail right?" he asked, by now Justin had climbed a pillar and was waiting "I got it."

"Think you can shoot it off?" Kobalt asked him as Nickole activated her rune. A gold triangle with rhombuses at each edge and a four sided star in the center.

"Not from this angle, but I've got another idea." He said transforming his rifle. It turned into a broadsword with a glowing blue edge. Then Tristan disappeared from sight. Out of nowhere the Manticore's tail was cut off, and Tristan reappeared behind it with a smirk on his face. He disappeared before it could turn on him and bolted. That was when Justin chose to make his move. He leapt from the pillar and blasted towards the Manticore, Nickole realigned her rune to Justin's path and accelerated him immensely. He flew towards the monster with enough speed to drive his spear through a small gap between the plates on its leg and the ground beneath it. They had it pinned, there was no way it could run now, and no way to fend off anyone charging.

Kobalt didn't waste any more time, he launched himself forward towards the Manticore and drove his sword into its eye. He pulled himself up and landed on its head, he sliced off one of the blades on its head and drove it into the beast's mouth. He drove his sword down one last time and leapt off, charging large amounts of energy in his hands as he did. He watched his Aura drop past the red zone as he did and his HUD blare at him for it. When he was sure he had enough he unleashed all of it towards the Manticore. A beam of pure energy screeched through the air and scorched the Manticore's head, vaporizing parts of it. Kobalt nearly collapsed after that.

"Nice work man!" Tristan yelled as he tried to stay up.

"What about the others?" he gasped, out of breath. He fell to his hands and knees.

He turned his head in time to see Jasmine throw her sword, now a boomerang, at the support for the bridge. It sliced it apart and cause the half of the bridge the Kalkros was on to fall to an angle. The Kalkros started sliding down and fell into a large crystal spike sticking out of the cliff.

"They did it." Nickole said

"Good, can someone get this helmet off me?" he asked "My HUD won't shut up."

He wasn't sure who got it off, all he knew was the moment they did he fell on his chest exhausted.

"Hey you alright?" Nickole asked

"I'm fine, I'm alright." He said rolling onto his back "just tired, anyone got some water?"

"On it," Amethyst said as she walked over and materialized a crystal glass filled with water from her pack.

"Okay that is pretty cool." He said as he downed the water in under a second. "Thanks."

"Least I could do," she said "You did save us from the Death Stalker earlier."

"I'm sure you could've handled it." he said "You did just kill the Kalkros."

"That thing wasn't a giant bug." Jasmine shuttered

"Come on, let's get you up." Tristan said offering a hand "How about we get up that cliff and turn in these relics?"

"I won't complain." He said as he got pulled back to his feet. He picked up his helmet and walked with his friends up the stairs.


	4. Chapter 4: A Dark Night

After a much needed dinner in the dining hall, Tristan wanted almost nothing more than to go to sleep. But there was still the final ceremony of initiation, the team assignments. They had all the first year students gather in the auditorium while Ozpin stood on stage.

"First of all congratulations on passing your first exam." Ozpin said "I'm sure many of you are quite tired so I'll get things underway shortly. But first I would like to say, welcome to Beacon, you are now all officially students here. Now then, please report to the stage when I call your names."

"This is it." Nickole said, "moment of truth, let's hope we got the right match."

"Doré Adrian, Jasmine Gale, Carmen Ellery, and Amethyst Madera." Ozpin called "The four of you retrieved the Gold Princess pieces, from this day forward, you shall work together as Team JADE. Led by, Jasmine Gale."

They all cheered as their friends walked off the stage.

"Congrats Jazz," Nickole said "you earned it."

"Yeah nice job," Tristan said jumping in

"Thanks, and Tristan." She said "Sorry in advance if the rest of my team annoys you too often."

"No worries, I'm used to it." he laughed, thinking back to when the rest of her team ignored the relics to try and talk to him.

"Nickole Gareth, Kobalt, Justin Titian, and Tristan Glaucous." Ozpin called towards the end "You four retrieved the Gold Warrior pieces, from this day forward, you will work together as Team KNGT. Led by, Kobalt."

 _Big surprise_ , Tristan thought sarcastically, _the guy knows how to make a plan on the fly. Can't say the same for the rest of us._

"Now then, I'm sure you would all rather go to sleep than listen to another speech from me." Ozpin joked "Your rooming information should already be updated on your scrolls. Good night."

If they had the energy, Tristan was sure they would've run to their dorm room. But with how drained they were, they barely managed a walk with Team JADE, who was apparently next door to them. When they got there, they were surprised to find all their luggage already in the room. Along with school uniforms for each of them.

"Please tell me we don't have class tomorrow." Tristan said as he plunged face first into his pillow.

Kobalt pulled out his scroll and went to check.

"Looks like we've got one at nine in the morning." He said "Who's down for getting up at five and…"

"Seven." Nickole said cutting him off. "I prefer to wake up when it's light out."

"How about we put it to a vote." Kobalt suggested

"Seven." Tristan and Justin said simultaneously

"Okay seven it is." He said giving up, "I'm going to take a quick shower, I'll see you all in the morning."

With that Tristan changed and passed out in bed.

But it wasn't long into the night before he was woken up again. He'd had a bad habit of waking up in the middle of the night for years, but usually it was just random and without reason. This time, Tristan was woken up by someone else.

"Stay back." Tristan heard Kobalt mumble in his sleep, he must be having some kind of dream. Normally Tristan wouldn't think anything of it, but then Kobalt flinched lightly as if in pain. Tristan got up and took a look at Kobalt, he clutching his shoulder as if in pain.

"Stay away," he said more clearly this time, his voice was full of terror. He cried out as if he'd been struck. Tristan walked over to him and shook his shoulder.

"Hey man, it's only a dream wake up." he said calmly, hoping Kobalt could hear him. But he just kept flinching like he was being hit.

"Get back." He said, this time more angry than scared.

"Kobalt wake up!" he almost yelled, shaking his shoulder harder. Kobalt's eyes snapped open, he grabbed Tristan's arm and tackled him to the ground before Tristan could tell what was happening. Kobalt loomed over him with one arm keeping him pinned down, his other arm was raised in a fist above his head. His eyes were filled with pure rage, and for a second Tristan thought Kobalt was going to kill him. Then he blinked a few times, and the look on his face changed to disbelief, then fear. He got off quickly, and pushed himself back against the wall. By now Justin was up and kneeling next to Tristan, Nickole had gotten up and was walking over to them after turning on the lights.

"What happened?" she asked, her tone as serious as Justin.

"I don't know." Tristan said sitting up "He was…"

Tristan was cut off by a knock at the door. Nickole put a finger to her lips and answered.

"Nickole, what happened?" he heard Jazz ask "We heard a crash, is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, a bookshelf just fell down," Nickole said, her voice calm "Justin, think you can fix that real quick?"

She pointed her thumb to the other end of the room, the real message there clear. **_Move_**.

"Yeah no problem." Justin said walking across the room.

"Sorry that woke you, I thought these rooms would be more soundproof." Nickole laughed, she was almost as good an actor as Amber.

"Yeah tell me about." Jazz said "Hey is Kobalt up? There was something I wanted to ask him."

Tristan only need to take one look at Kobalt to tell it was not a good idea for him to see anyone right now. He was deathly pale and sweating, he had one hand on his head and he was breathing heavily.

"He's still asleep somehow." Nickole laughed "I guess he was more drained then he let on."

"Oh wow, well when he wakes up can you tell him I asked for any tips he might have on being a leader?" Jazz asked "I get the feeling he's a natural at it."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Nickole said "But I'll tell him anyway."

"Thanks, good night." Jazz said as she walked back to her room. Nickole closed the door and turned back to them.

"What happened?" she asked again, her tone back to being serious.

"I don't know, I was trying to wake him from a nightmare and he attacked me." Tristan said

"It wasn't a nightmare." Kobalt, his voice quiet, he slid down and sat with his back still to the wall.

"Give us some space." Nickole whispered to Tristan. He got up and stood next to the door, hopefully he'd hear anyone coming before they got to their room. Nickole knelt next to Kobalt and looked him dead in the eye.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice now soft and kind. Yet Tristan could tell it was sincere, not an act like with Jazz.

"I don't know how to explain it," he said his voice filled with fear "but I know it wasn't a nightmare, it was a memory."

"A memory?" Nickole asked "What did you see?"

"I was in some ashen place on my own, and I was surrounded." He said

"By Grimm?" she asked, but Kobalt shook his head.

"People, people in masks and cloaks." He said "They kept attacking me, I had arrows sticking out of my armor. And a spear in my shoulder."

Even from where he was standing, Tristan could easily make out the scars on Kobalt's chest. If he'd worn a shirt to bed he never would've, but without one Tristan could see there were dozens of scars all over him. The large one on his shoulder drew as much attention as the one on his face. He'd known about the one on his face ever since he took his helmet off, but all these made him wonder. What the hell had Kobalt been doing before he lost his memory?

"They kept coming at me, I was on my own. I don't how I got out alive but…" Kobalt stopped talking, but Tristan could still see the fear in his eyes.

He was freaking out, this memory must be too much for him to handle. It was a lot for Tristan to hear, he couldn't even imagine how Kobalt must feel having just relived it in a dream.

"Kobalt look at me," Nickole said getting his attention and pulling his hand off his head "we're going to figure this out, I promise you. We will find out who you are, and what happened to you. And whatever you did before is in the past, you're part of our team now, you're not alone anymore."

Kobalt seemed to calm down a bit after hearing that, but he still looked worried. And on top of that, Tristan got the feeling he as hiding something

"I promise you, I will help you find the answers you want." She continued "We've got your back, we will find out who you are."

"How can you be sure?" Kobalt asked

"Because I'm your friend," she said "None of us care about what you did before, you're our friend now."

"She's right man, we've got your back, no matter what." Tristan said finally speaking up. "Even if you almost decked me."

"Yeah sorry about that." Kobalt chuckled

"Get some rest," he said "You'll need it."

"We'll think of something tomorrow, okay?" Nickole told him

"Yeah," Kobalt said, seeming more like his old self. "And we've got class in eight hours, fantastic."

He slid back into bed and fell asleep pretty quick. Justin followed his lead soon after.

"That's a big promise to make to someone you just met." Tristan whispered to Nickole as she walked back to her bed. She didn't hide her embarrassment all that well by looking away.

"Well someone has to help him." She muttered

"You sure you can?" Tristan asked, concern for his new friends building up.

"I have to," she said "After seeing that how can I just stand by? The first thing he did when we met was cheer me up and become my friend."

"You got any ideas?" he asked "Where do you even begin with something like this."

"I've got one, yeah." Nickole said "I need more information though, maybe my brother will have an idea."

"Your brother?"

"He's an ops manager for Huntsman," she told him "If anyone can help or knows where to start, it's him."

"Sounds good," Tristan said "we should get some rest though, we do have classes tomorrow. I'll keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't wake the dorm again."

"And I was thinking the biggest thing I'd have to worry about was making friends here." Nickole sighed

"Were on our way to becoming Hunters, it was a matter of time before we had to deal with something real." He said

The next morning they decided to sleep in an extra hour. The events of the night had drained them all pretty well, with the exception of Justin, who seemed fine. They decided to save unpacking for after they were done with classes, they had a short day as it was. And Kobalt seemed to be doing better too, he sounded normal, and his eyes no longer bore a look of terror or anger. It was a relief to see him like his old self. Unlike everyone else last night, Tristan had gotten an up close look at Kobalt when he was waking up, and it wasn't pretty.

"How you feeling man?" Tristan asked Kobalt on their way to class.

"Better thanks," he said "I really lost my cool back there huh? Not very leader like of me."

"Nah you're fine." Tristan said "Maybe a little grumpy when you woke up, but we can forgive you for that."

"Yeah let's go with grumpy," Kobalt laughed as they walked into the lecture hall "Sounds better than what I was thinking."

"You just need to lighten up a little." Tristan joked

Grimm Studies, there first class here at Beacon. Meant to teach about the individual species of Grimm, the class was already boring the life out of Tristan. Professor Port seemed like a nice enough guy, but for a class about Grimm, they were learning more about Port than they were Grimm. Tristan was barely paying attention as he told a story about himself to the class. If this was how every class with this guy was going to be, Tristan would need someone to keep him awake in it.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable!" Port said drawing his attention "A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"

 _Well duh,_ Tristan thought _that's kind of in the job description._

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Port asked

 _That's a trap if I've ever seen one._ He turned to his team, shook his head and winked. None of them raised their hands, while everyone else in the class seemed too nervous to raise theirs.

"Really none of you?" Port asked "I find that hard to believe, am I to understand none of you are confident in your abilities."

"Perhaps it's just the nervousness that the first day of class brings on." Tristan joked

"I usually pick my first volunteer that way, now what am I supposed to do?" Port wondered out loud "How about you young man?"

"Me?" Tristan asked

"Yes you, it's obvious that you're not nervous. And the rest of your team seems fine." he said "Saw through my little trick didn't you? So why don't you step forward…"

"I'll do it." Justin said standing up and cutting him off. "I assume your volunteer will do something with the Grimm you have hidden in that box?"

"Noticed that did you?" Port asked

"Professor I could hear it." Justin said "Besides, it's building up a lot of static by running its hoof on the ground."

"Then please suit up and step forward." The Professor said

"No need." Justin said pulling his collapsed spear from his back "All I need is this."

"You sure you don't want me to handle this bro?" Tristan asked "He did ask me."

"Professor Port was looking for a volunteer, not someone forced to do it." Justin said, serious as ever

"Well said!" Port exclaimed as Justin walked onto the main floor.

"Well this'll be short." Nickole said under her breath.

"Think he'll just shoot it the second he sees it?" Kobalt asked

"Probably." Nickole laughed

"You got this Justin!" Carmen cheered from behind them.

Port broke open the box, revealing a caged Boarbatusk, a small Grimm by all standards. He opened the lock and the beast charged out and towards the Justin. He rolled to one side as the Grimm barreled past him. When the Boarbatusk stopped, Justin fired his cannon, propelling himself across the floor into the Grimm. After what happened with the Death Stalker, Tristan wasn't surprised when the spear passed clean through the whole Grimm.

"Well that was fast." Port said "I must say I'm a bit disappointed, I was hoping it would last a bit longer, nothing gets me energized like a good fight."

"With all due respect professor, that spear pierced a Death Stalker's armor in one strike." Kobalt said "The Boarbatusk stood no chance."

"Really? Well either way that fight was supposed to last till the end of class," he said "I suppose I have no choice but to dismiss you early. Be sure to go over the assigned readings in the meantime."

"Remind me to have you volunteer more often." Kobalt said as they walked out of class "We'll get out early every day."


	5. Chapter 5: Out on the Town

Nickole's first order of business once back was to change into some more comfortable clothes, and she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Now that they were back in the dorm they decided to finally unpack and decorate their room. While the rest of them were putting things on their desks, Kobalt sat on his bed looking uncomfortable.

 _He's got no memory, he doesn't even know if he has a family to have pictures of._ Nickole realized while setting up her monitors. Her computer setup wasn't as complex as her brother's, but she had always seen the advantages of having a powerful computer and multiple monitors.

"Hey Kobalt, after were done here you want to head in to Vale?" she asked him "You're going to need some supplies."

"With what money?" he asked "I don't know if I have a bank account or anything."

Nickole was about to offer to pay for him, her family had plenty of money they weren't using. But as she opened her mouth there was a knock on the door, followed by a voice.

"Leave that to me." said a man said, leaning against their open door. Even from here Nickole could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Qrow?" Kobalt asked "What are you doing here?"

"Or Beacon really, they should've gotten this to you sooner, but I guess they had their hands full just admitting you." he said tossing a card to Kobalt "School credits, you can use them to buy anything you might need. Consider yourself lucky you don't have any memory, or you wouldn't have gotten this. You've got a limit on how much you can spend, so don't go crazy."

"Thanks Qrow," Kobalt said in shock "I owe you a lot."

"Hey it's my job," he said "Now if you don't mind, I'd like a word with you. Outside."

They stepped outside and Kobalt closed the door, it wasn't more than a minute that he came back in looking defeated.

"What is it?" Nickole asked him "What'd he say?"

"He's been checking the other combat schools, even the Huntsmen Academies," Kobalt said "None of them has ever had me as a student."

"Then we'll just have to do some digging of our own." She said determined "Come on, let's head into town and get you some supplies. Once we get back we'll give my brother a call."

"Your brother?" Kobalt asked

"I'll explain when we get back, come on." She said walking to the door.

"You two have fun, we'll finish unpacking here." Tristan said as she opened the door.

"So what do I need to get anyway?" Kobalt asked once they were in downtown Vale.

"Well for starters I would say you need a computer." She said "A scroll won't be enough to do some of the work were bound to get. Come on, the place I bought my computer isn't far from here."

A few hours later they had picked out a computer that worked well enough for Kobalt, as well as some basic supplies he would need for the rest of his classes. They were just walking out of a dust shop when she realized he was still wearing his school uniform. Unlike the rest of them he hadn't changed out of it after class had ended.

"Kobalt, you don't have another change of clothes do you?" she asked

"Well I've got the clothes I wear under my armor." He said plainly

"Not what I meant," Nickole said "Come on, I never thought I'd take a guy clothes shopping."

She dragged him into a nearby clothing store and went to the men's section.

"I suppose this is a bad time to admit I have no fashion sense." Kobalt said awkwardly

"God you're hopeless." She laughed as she looked around.

"Here try these on," she said tossing him some clothes after searching for a solid minute, "They look to be about your size."

A little while later he walked out of the changing room wearing a jet grey zip up jacket with blue patterns on the shoulders and down the arms. His dress pants swapped out for a pair of black pants which he pulled over his boots.

"How do I look?" he asked

"Not bad, though we need to find something that fits you other than black." She admitted looking him over again. She managed to convince the cashier to ring them out with Kobalt still wearing the clothes he bought. They put his uniform in the bags they already had and left for Beacon.

"Hey Nickole," Kobalt said as they walked back into their dorm building, "Thanks for helping me out today."

"Don't mention it," she said "It was kinda of fun. Besides you're my friend."

"So what was that you said earlier about calling your brother?" he asked as they opened the door. The room was empty, Justin and Tristan must've gone out to get food.

"My brother's an ops manager for Huntsmen, he might have some info on what you saw in your memory." She told him "Or at least he'll know where to look. I'll call him now."

She walked over to her computer and saw that her brother was indeed online. She called him hoping he wasn't too busy. He must not have been because he answered almost instantly.

"Hey how'd initiation go?" Auburn asked as his face popped up on her screen.

"You could've told me about the launch plates." She told him angrily, the memory coming back up. "It went fine, wound up on a pretty good team."

"Nice, so what's up?" he asked shifting his glasses.

"Need your help with something," she motioned for Kobalt to get in the camera. "This is Kobalt, my team leader."

"Hello." Kobalt said awkwardly.

"He's got a bit of a problem with amnesia, I was hoping you could help us track down the places he's…."

"Kay so, I'm gonna have to stop you right there." He said cutting her off "Kobalt right? Well first of all, I'd like to apologize for my little sister imposing herself into your personal problems."

"I told her." Kobalt said

"Apology rescinded." Auburn said "Second, you just cannot help yourself can you Nic? How long after he told you did you offer to help."

"The next day," Kobalt said for her "But with all due respect you weren't there. You didn't see what happened to me after one memory came back. I was freaking out, your sister calmed me down and promised to help get the rest of my memories back. She's a good friend."

Auburn was silent for a minute after that, he seemed as shocked as Nickole was. Kobalt immediately came rushing to her defense, but his tone was different then before too, more like a friend and less like a leader.

"So no memory at all?" Auburn asked

"Save the two rather blurry ones, no."

"That's a hell of a thing." Auburn said "And I'd love to help. Unfortunately I'm pretty busy right now…"

"Auburn!" Nickole yelled at him, he was there best shot and he was saying no. He held up a finger to silence her.

"Like I said I'm pretty busy, and can't devote any time to investigating something that isn't a clear and present danger to Vale." He said ultimately "But, I think I can point you in the right direction. You're on your way to becoming a Huntress and Huntsman, so it's only a matter of time before you have a mission. I can give you a place to start, from there, it's all on you. And I can't guarantee you'll get a lead."

"Better than what we had yesterday," she said "Where do we start?"

"There's an information broker who's been popping up all across the board lately." Auburn said "Huntsmen are saying he knows everything, that he's provided some pretty useful intel on missions of theirs. I'll send you the address of the club he's starting up."

"Thanks Auburn." Nickole said

"Don't mention it, but I've got to warn you, he might not be a criminal but he's definitely no model citizen. You go in their wearing your armor, and he might bolt, that being said you should still be armed. And let him know you mean business. His name is Junior. I gotta go, take care of my sister Kobalt."

"I can take care of myself." Nickole argued while Kobalt laughed "Bye Auburn, and cut your hair."

She hung up on the call before he could argue and turned to Kobalt.

"So, you feel like going clubbing?" she asked him

"Why Nickole, are you asking me out on a date?" he joked

"God you're worse than Auburn." She said standing up

"I'm kidding jeez, and Tristan thinks I need to lighten up." Kobalt said "I'd love to go clubbing."

"Great, let's get some food and head out later tonight." She said

"We should probably leave Justin and Tristan here, he might get spooked if four people come in and start questioning him." Kobalt added

Taking her brother's advice she wasn't wearing her armor with her to the club, instead she kept her casual clothes on. Kobalt on the other hand, was putting parts of his armor on over his new clothes. He put on his gauntlets, shoulder guards and part of his greaves over the front of his legs. It seemed much less bulky without the rest of his armor on.

"So where is this club?" Kobalt asked, slinging his sword over his back

She checked the address, it was in a pretty old part of Vale, most of the surrounding buildings were under renovation or condemned. And it was a ways off from where the airship would drop them off.

"Were going to need a car." She said walking out the door "It's a ways out in the industrial district."

"A car, or a bike." Kobalt said, he took her to the garage and pulled out his keys. Hitting a button his bike roared to life. A black and blue sport classic motorcycle that looked like it was made with Kobalt himself in mind.

"Where did you get that?" Nickole asked incredulously

"Parting gift from a group of thugs I kicked out of Patch, with a few of my own modifications." He said getting on "I tried to return it to its owner but he wanted to keep the insurance money he got from it. So he let me keep it."

"Well that was nice of him." She said climbing on behind him. Getting the distinct feeling Kobalt liked to drive fast, she grabbed on to his waist. Her guess was confirmed when he popped the clutch and took off at lightning speed. Immediately she tightened her grip on him to the point where he probably couldn't breathe. That slowed him down instantly.

"Sorry, too fast?" Kobalt asked as he slowed down to the speed limit.

"Too fast," she said shakily "I've never been on one of these things before."

"My bad, I'll take it easy." He said "Industrial district right?"

"Southwestern part of it, just off the highway." She told him "Should be a big building and the only one not barred up."

"Got it." he said as he pulled onto the highway, for her sake though he seemed to be staying just under the speed limit. She laughed at herself a bit, after fighting Grimm how on Remnant was she afraid of riding a bike? It didn't take long for them to reach the club, having a bike certainly made it much faster. Within twenty minutes they were walking into the building, as they got inside Nickole was impressed with what she saw. Whoever designed the club had great style, it was gave off a very future techno vibe. Lights were already up and running, likely being tested for whenever the grand opening was. The DJ was getting accustomed to his space above the dance floor, and the bartender was stocking up behind the bar. All the workers were wearing the same black suits with red ties. One of the workers walked up to them as they walked down the steps.

"Sorry you two, the clubs not open yet." He said trying to sound intimidating

"That's fine, we didn't come here to dance." Kobalt said flashing a mischievous smile. The worker's eyes darted to Kobalt's sword and he backed up an inch.

"Easy there," Nickole said "Were just here to see Junior."

"The boss is by the bar, try not to break anything." He said walking away

"I think I scared him a little." Kobalt whispered into her ear. She tried not to laugh too hard. Mixing a drink behind the bar was the only man in the club not dressed in the same suit as the rest. Instead he was wearing a black vest over a white shirt with a red tie. While not much different he still stood out from the rest of the people here.

"Junior?" she asked

"Who's asking?" he responded

"Someone who hears you know everything." She told him

"Someone heard right then." He said "Glad to see my reps spreading so fast, you here about White Fang activities too. Or something less legal? You're not wearing a wire are you?"

"We going to play this game all night, or do I have to go find Senior?" Kobalt asked sarcastically "Were not cops, were not Huntsmen and we've got questions you might have the answers to."

"Impatient there Blue?" Junior asked him

"Blue?" Kobalt asked

"Yeah, Blue, you've got a long face." He tried to joke "Now what is it you…"

"JUNIOR!" a voice yelled out from behind them

"Crap." Junior muttered

Nickole turned around to see a man in a white suit walking down the stairs. He had a thin pointy beard and looked pissed. Surrounding him as he came in was a group of robots, Altesian Knights model 100s. Not as advanced as the new 130s, but still better than most untrained fighters. He stopped in the middle of the dance floor.

"Vini, what do you want?" Junior asked him

"What do I want? Remember that Atlas cargo you said wouldn't have any security?" he asked "Well there were Huntsmen there instead!"

"And I told you sometimes people come looking for the same information." Junior told him "I don't run background checks on customers, bad for business."

"Do I look like I care?" Vini yelled "So here's what's gonna happen, my bots here are gonna burn down this club, and you with it."

"Whoa let's just take it easy there." Junior said shakily

"Someone needs to kick this guy's ass." Kobalt muttered

"And who the hell are?" Vini asked him "I swear you kids these days are so arrogant, get out of here before I burn you down with this fool!"

"Oh please tell me I can kick his ass." Kobalt said turning to face Nickole.

"Be my guest." Junior chimed in, but Kobalt's eyes were focused on her.

"Go ahead, kick his ass. Blue." She teased

"Hey DJ, you got everything set up?" Kobalt called out

"Um, yeah." The guy said ducking behind his table.

"Good, do me a favor and put on something classic." Kobalt told him. The DJ seemed happy to oblige, and in a few short seconds Nickole heard a song she recognized from and old sci-fi movie.

"Look kid, you're about to make a big mistake, so why don't you just turn around and…" Vini never got to finish what he was saying. Kobalt kicked him square in the chest, picked him up and threw across the club.

"Does he ever shut up?" he called back as the AK-100s trained their weapons on him.

"Nope." Junior responded

Kobalt didn't even bother to draw his sword, he went about tearing apart the AK-100s with his bare hands. Or rather with blasts of energy, every time he hit one a shockwave of blue energy burst out from the point of impact.

"Damn remind me not to piss of your boyfriend." Junior said as they watched Kobalt decimated the robots.

"Not my boyfriend." Nickole told him

"Yeah, okay." Junior said sarcastically

"Hey Junior, how bout a souvenir?" Kobalt asked him as he tossed one of the robots heads to him. He hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Jeez boss what'd you get yourself into this time." came a new voice. Standing above Vini was a new guy wearing similar clothes, only his white suit was draped over his shoulders. His vest underneath was as white as his suit with a red rose pinned to it. He had long blonde hair that went down to his shoulders.

"Damn it , I told you to be here by…"

"Be here by eight I know, I honestly didn't think you'd have trouble with one guy."

"I wanted you here in case he had hired muscle." Vini said "And he has."

"To be completely honest, we don't work for him." Nickole said "You're just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Or perhaps it's the right time." the man said standing up, he flicked his wrist and Nickole felt something brush against her ear. She reached up a noticed a red rose sitting on her ear.

"Red's not my color," she said reaching up and taking the rose off.

"Then what is my dear?" he asked

"Blue." No sooner had she said that then a blue rose landed on her ear instead.

"Now excuse me dear while I take care of this trash." He said throwing off his jacket, on his back were two short swords. Both red with green hilts, and barbed blades.

"Kobalt, do me a favor, if he calls me dear one more time…" she started

"Let me guess, kick his ass?" she nodded "You know you could do that too."

"You're the one who brought the sword, I figured one of us armed would be enough." She argued as he laughed.

"You mean it doesn't go with your outfit, right?"

"My dear please allow me to teach this fool some manners." said. Nickole didn't have time to tell him off. Kobalt was on him in a second, his fist shoved into 's gut.

"You really need to take a hint pal," Kobalt said pulling his fist back. "If the lady doesn't want you calling her 'dear' I don't think she's interested."

"Insolent punk," flicking his wrist again, this time Nickole was able to see the rose materialize and streak towards Kobalt. Despite the insane speed it was moving, Kobalt managed to catch it inches from his face. snapped his fingers and the rose exploded in Kobalt's face. But when the smoke cleared, Kobalt stood straight as if nothing had happened.

"So is that it?" Kobalt asked nonchalantly

growled as he pulled out his swords and charged.

"Oh please tell me this is actually happening." Kobalt said drawing his own. As brought both of his blades down, Kobalt blocked with his own.

"Buddy you have no idea who you're messing with do you?" Kobalt taunted as he dodged the wave of attacks coming his way. He shifted stances and stabbed at Valentine, landing a hit and sending him flying back.

"Some arrogant wannabe Huntsman?" spat out, his grace gone

"Oh that's the closet thing you've gotten to hurting me so far." Kobalt laughed. He and locked blades again and even Nickole could tell Kobalt was just toying with him. jumped up to deliver another attack and Kobalt parried it, and blasted him back. threw a couple more roses at him, which Kobalt merely dodged. The exploded on the dance floor behind him.

"HEY!" Junior yelled "Could you not? I just finished building this place!"

"Sorry bout that Junior, I'll take care of it." Kobalt said

As if on que, threw another bushel of roses at him. Kobalt jumped up, dodged the ones that came his way. Before they could hit the floor, he stretched out his arm, and all the roses were encased in blue energy. He redirected them back at before he could detonate them, then detonated the energy himself. He reversed his grip on his sword, holding it backwards behind him and waited. When rushed in slashing, Kobalt parried his attack upwards and brought his sword in a full circle slicing Valentine. When he tried to recover, Kobalt spun and sliced at his chest. He parried another blow and sliced at his legs. He blasted back into Vini who was now standing up in front of a window, and launched them both out of it.

"Well that was fun." Kobalt said as he walked back to them and sheathed his sword.

"Do you know who that was?" Junior asked him

"Not a clue. Wait don't tell me, he was some big crime boss." Kobalt joked, but Junior just stood there and nodded his head.

"You're kidding me right?" Kobalt asked, clearly in disbelief. "That guy was a mob leader?"

"Well, the Huntsmen have been making life for organized crime tough these past few years." Nickole said

"Either way he won't be in charge for long after that." Junior said "I don't know who you tow are, but you just kept him from burning this place to the ground, anything you need from me you've got it."

"Anything?" Nickole asked

"Anything."

"If I knew it would be this easy I'd have come here sooner." Kobalt laughed

"Pull up some stools, can I get you some drinks?" Junior asked

"Just a soda for me thanks." Nickole said

"2oz of whiskey, dry vermouth and bitters, on the rocks." Kobalt said, then he laughed "Apparently I know mixed drinks too."

"And a good one at that." Junior said motioning for the bartender for two "So what are you two here for? I can't imagine what two Beacon students are looking for here."

"That obvious huh?" Nickole asked

"You're 'friend' has a sword and the skills to use it. And you're too nice to be criminals." Junior said

"I've got a small case of amnesia," Kobalt said taking a sip of his drink, "Oh that's good, gonna need a name for that."

"I've actually been working on mixed drinks for a while, been meaning to make one for each of the four kingdoms." Junior said "How bout the Vale?"

"Nah a Vale would be more of a sweet drink, I'm thinking an Atlas." Kobalt said

"Sounds good, mind if I try?" Nickole asked, he slid her his drink and she took a sip. It was pretty dry. "That's strong."

"Good whiskey," Junior said "Amnesia huh? I can put out some feelers, see if anyone recognizes your face. You got anything else for me to go on?"

"I might've been seen in this helmet," Kobalt said pulling out his scroll and showing him a picture. "And there's one other thing, one of the few things I remember is being in some kind of ashen land, somewhat mountainous, very inhospitable."

"I'll see what I can find, it's the least I can do. You sure there's nothing else you need?" Junior asked "You just saved my club, one bit of info isn't much."

"Nothing yet." Nickole said "But keep your doors open, we may be back."

"Any time, intel's on the house for you two, drinks too." He said "You got names?"

"Nickole."

"Kobalt."

"I like Blue better." Junior joked

"Me too." Nickole teased

"Come on let's go." Kobalt said stiffly as Nickole laughed.

"What don't like you're new nickname?" She teased outside

"Please tell me that's not going to be a thing." he said as he turned to look at her, then his eyes locked in on her.

"What is it?" she asked "Do I have something on my face?"

"You've still got the rose in your hair." He said. She reached up and sure enough, the blue rose threw was still in her hair.

"I kind of like it." she admitted

"Well as nice as it was of him to give you a rose," Kobalt said as he took the rose, "He could've cut the thorns off first."

Nickole watched as an outline of blue energy traveled up the stem, slicing off the thorns on the way up. Once all of them were off, he gently placed the rose back in her hair.

"There, now you won't have to worry about cutting yourself," he said "You do look pretty good with it."

"Thanks." She said "Blue."

"Oh this is going to become a thing isn't it?" he sighed

"Better get used to it." she laughed

"Fine, but if the rest of the team starts calling me Blue, it's on you." He said as he climbed on his bike.

"You really think Justin would call you by a nickname unless you told him to?" she asked him as she climbed on behind him

"Okay but Tristan…"

"Just shoot him one of those looks if he calls you Blue." She said, naturally he turned around and shot her said look.

"Yeah just like that." She laughed


	6. Chapter 6: Positive Reinforcement

Having Junior searching for info on him took a load off Kobalt's mind. Despite coming to Beacon, he couldn't shake the urge to pack up and leave to go looking for clues. But he was no tracker, and had no idea where to begin. So with Junior looking, Kobalt was able to relax for the next week and adjust to life at Beacon. He was glad Nickole took him clothes shopping, it was a hell of a lot more comfortable than spending all day in his armor or uniform. And having a computer was really making classes easier, Nickole had been dead on with that. Junior had been sending him pictures of places matching his description of his memory, but so far none matched. He was just looking at a few pictures when someone knocked on the door, he quickly shifted tabs before answering.

"It's unlocked!" he called from his desk.

"No it's not!" a girl called from the hall, Jazz.

"One sec." he wrapped a strand of his energy around the door handle and pulled the door open. No need to worry about his Aura right now after all. Jazz walked in in her uniform, just back from class if he had to guess.

"So what's up, more leadership advice?" he asked her. She'd been coming to him for advice since the second day of classes.

"It's Dore again," she sighed "The other girls are fine, they listen to me and get along fine. But Dore won't listen, we keep losing team matches because of her."

"Any idea why, it's been a week now." he asked "She seemed nice enough in the forest."

"I know!" she said throwing her hands up "But I swear ever since that night she's been completely uncooperative."

"See before I was just trying to help you, but now I'm curious." Kobalt said "What's her deal."

"I wish I knew," Jazz said resting her face in her hands.

"Well what **do** we know about her?" he asked

"Her name is Dore Adrian, she wields a fencing saber that turns into a small pistol." Jazz said "And she wears a golden metal dress."

"That's all you know about her?" he asked "You haven't been able to see anything else?"

"Well if you're so good at reading people who don't talk to you tell me," she said sarcastically "what do you know about her?"

"Well there's a couple things I've noticed recently, first of all from the way she walks and talks, I can tell you she comes from money." He said "She probably had a personal trainer before coming here, got pretty sure of herself thanks to them. And she probably has some upper class complex too."

"You can tell all that from the way she walks and talks?" Jazz asked

"Haven't you noticed it's a little too proper?" Kobalt asked her "She walks with too much grace for an average person, and carries herself too assuredly for an average student. So she's either really cocky, or she's rich."

"You can tell all that from the way she walks and talks?" Jazz asked again

"Shouldn't you be able to pick up on these things more easily than me?" he asked her "Aren't girls supposed to be able to read other girls easily?"

"Even if that is true, I've never been good with other girls since I moved here." She said

"Where are you from?"

"Small town in Mistral, most of the girls I knew growing up were more like me."

"Meaning…"

"Rougher, 'let me do my thing and we'll get along fine' was basically how most of my friends were back there. And me if I'm being honest."

"Which makes being a leader…"

"A total pain in the ass." She cut him off "I'm not used to telling others what to do."

"You did fine in the forest." Kobalt pointed out.

"That was life or death, this is school." She argued

"This school _is_ life or death, you graduate from here without learning you die." He said

"Can we get back to Dore?" she asked

"Fine, so we know she's rich and probably a bit arrogant based off when I have heard her speak." He said "So what's the issue, you said it started the night off initiation?"

"Yeah when we got back to the dorm and I said we should get up early before class she turned to me and said 'Don't presume **you** can tell me what to do.' Then she stormed into the bathroom." She said, then a light went off in her head "Oh my god I'm an idiot."

"What?"

"She doesn't see us as anything more than peasants." Jazz said "It's like you said, rich self-assured girl, now I know who she reminded me of, a super-rich girl back home. Oh that self-entitled bi…"

"Whoa easy there." Kobalt said calming her down "You get hostile like that with her and she'll never listen to you."

"She doesn't now. But I assume you have a plan for that?"

"Like you said, she doesn't listen to you." he started "But maybe she'll listen to me."

"I doubt it, if she's as self-assured as you think I doubt she'll listen to anyone."

"And what if that glass ball she's living in is shattered?" he asked

"What are you getting at?" she asked him

"Leave it to me, you keep trying to make friends with her." He said "You're going to be on her team for a while, best if you don't plot with me about this any further."

"Kay…" she said confused "You not gonna like, attack her or something are you?"

"What do you take me for? Some bully?"

"Absolutely not!" Professor Goodwitch yelled after Kobalt went to her office for help. "I don't care if you're Qrow's pet project, I will not allow you to…."

"Professor please just here me out." He insisted "I'm not doing this because I think Qrow's help will get me whatever I want, if I did, I would've gone to him. Instead I came to you, because you're the only professor who can help me here. And I'm doing this because I think it will help her settle in with her team."

"She has been a problem for them lately," Goodwitch sighed as she settled back down at her desk "But that doesn't mean I'll…"

"Professor all I'm asking is that you put me up against her in a match, you don't have to do anything else."

"Like I said before I cannot rig matches between students just because one asks." She said

"Okay fine, I'll just…"

"But, if the randomizer should put the two of you against each other tomorrow, there is nothing I could do about it."

"Thank you professor."

"For what?" she asked her tone serious "You know Mr. Kobalt, I don't think I've ever had a student interrupt me so many times in one meeting, don't get ahead of yourself here."

"Of course not professor," he said getting up "Have a good day."

"For the record, I hope your plan works. It's noble to want to help your friends." Then her tone shifted "But don't presume this means you'll get any special treatment."

"With all due respect professor, I've never expected any." He said "I wouldn't even be here if Qrow didn't think it was a good idea."

Kobalt flexed his hand, making sure his gauntlet was secured properly. He was sitting in the amphitheater watching Justin duel Kobi of Team PINK. Justin casually ended the fight, knocking Kobi into the wall after holding the advantage for the whole fight. It was usually boring watching Justin fight, anyone who got to close got knocked away when he spun his spear. Too far away and he blasted them with lightning. He hadn't gotten matched against anyone who could beat him yet, but they all tried the same thing. None of them ducked under his sweep. Justin had won three matches in the past week without his Aura dropping, meanwhile no one else from KNGT had fought anyone.

"Nice job man," Tristan said as Justin sat down next to him. "Now if only we could see someone else in action."

"Maybe you will today." Kobalt chuckled. He looked up to see who the randomizer would pair up next, there was only enough time left today for two more matches. Fortunately for him, the randomizer put him up next, against Dore. He saw her stand up across the theater and walk into the locker room, next to her was Jazz who looked at him, her eyebrows raised. He laughed lightly and winked.

"This ought to be good." Nickole said "Go easy on her Blue."

"I doubt she'll be as easy as was." He said, "Wish me luck."

A minute later he was walking out into the arena, his sword slung across his back and helmet in hand. Dore stood across the way from him, her saber already drawn.

"Kick his ass Dore!" Jazz and her team cheered from the stands, but she just glared at them from down in the arena.

"Geez what's your problem?" Kobalt asked putting on his helmet, his HUD lighting up Dore as hostile.

"None of your business." She spat at him

"That's fine, I like guessing anyway." He joked drawing his sword. "Let's see, don't like your team?"

She dashed at him with a stab at his head, he bent his head over and dodged.

"You're going to have to be faster than that sweetheart." He laughed as he locked blades. "Still I can't imagine it's your team, you got along fine with them in the forest."

"Do you ever shut up?" she asked him

"Tell you what, you tell me what your problem is and I will."

"Buzz off." She said jumping back.

"Well based on you attitude I'd say you don't get along with many people," he said resting his blade on his shoulder. "But this is Beacon, you're smart enough to know you need to get along with your team or you're not going anywhere."

"I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass." She said as she charged him again

"Oh you think you're better than everyone don't you?" he asked parrying all her attacks. He felt bad for toying with her like this, but if he could knock some truth into her she might get along with her team. "And I bet you think you should be leader."

"You don't know anything about me!" she shouted ceasing her attacks. She took a step back and for a second Kobalt thought he was seeing double, there were two of her in front of him. Then out of the second came a third, then a fourth, eventually he was surrounded by copies of Dore. "How could you?" she shouted, her voice echoing off each clone slightly delayed. She raised her saber and brought it down on Kobalt, each clone slowly taking up the action. He crouched down and generated a large shield above his head. The blades hit it and bounced off and Dore stepped back.

"I'll take another guess then," he said knocking her blade up as it came down on him again. "Rich girl, personally trained by whatever Huntsman mommy and daddy hired to make you the best fighter."

The look on her face gave him all the confirmation he needed.

"Don't get me wrong, you're probably better than most people here." He said slicing at her "But you've got one hell of an attitude, and one day your team will pay for it."

"My team is lucky I'm with them!" she shouted

"That so? Then why is it your team keeps losing matches together, don't feel like carrying them?" he asked as she surrounded him with clones again "You know you have to work together right?"

"I don't need them!" she yelled at him, she thrust her saber at him, her clones following suit. Kobalt condensed his Aura in a ring where the blades were aimed, blocking each attack.

"I beg to differ, you need them and they need you." he said cutting the clones apart "And you know what pisses me off?"

He sent an energy blast off behind him, launching him forwards towards her. He sliced as he passed her, launched himself back at her over and over again. Her Aura dropped to just enough to continue.

"Your leader is working her ass off to try and be your friend, and get your team to do better." He said sheathing his sword "And you're making her job unbelievably harder."

He turned around to see Dore still standing, her breathing hard and her saber in both hands, but still standing.

 _Well she's got determination I'll give her that._ He thought

"I'm not finished yet." She muttered, and she ran at him intent on hitting him. He parried the attack with his gauntlet and flicked her forehead. Her Aura dropped just enough to end the match.

"Yes you are." He said turning to walk back to the locker room, in that moment he knew he had gone too far. He turned quickly so he didn't have to see her face as he left, but the dead silence in the crowd gave him all the information he needed. He got back to the locker room and took off his helmet, getting a breath of fresh air. He put his gear back in the locker and closed it to see Jazz looking at him with rage in her eyes. He didn't even see the slap coming, but it hurt like hell.

"You told me you were going to talk to her!" she yelled at him "Not fight her and beat her up!"

She slapped him again, her anger not going anywhere soon.

"She looked completely broken when you walked out! And on the verge of tears!" she kept yelling "I wanted to get along with her, not make her even more reclusive! She's my teammate and whether or not you were trying to knock some sense into her or not doesn't excuse being a complete asshole to her!"

Another slap hit his face, and Kobalt heard the sound of someone rapidly leaving the locker room.

"She hear the whole thing?" he asked Jazz once he was sure no one else was there.

"What? That was her?" she asked confused

"Who else would've been in here without opening the door on the way in?"

"You planned this whole thing didn't you?" she asked him "Even me coming down here."

"You're welcome." He said, earning him another slap, this one harder than the rest.

"God you're a diabolical asshole." She said "I'm going to go find her, maybe I can get her to talk to me before she goes full on mute."

She walked towards the exit, but stopped at the door and turned back around.

"Oh and Kobalt," she started "If she doesn't talk to us again, I'm going to shove my foot so far up your ass you won't tasting anything but leather for a week."

Kobalt was about to walk back to the stands when Goodwitch called his name from the arena, summoning him for another fight. When he got back out, he saw the randomizer had him up against **Team** UMBR.

"This is quite odd," Goodwitch said, very calm "Usually it takes a few weeks before the randomizer believes any one student can take on a team. I guess it thinks you're very skilled Mr. Kobalt."

 _Yeah I'm sure,_ he thought. _I probably deserve this though._

"You look bigger from up in the stands," Jon Umber said behind him. Kobalt turned to be face to chest with a seven foot tall monster and his team behind him.

"Thanks, you too." Kobalt said a smile on his face. Jon laughed at that, he was easily the tallest student at Beacon, and the largest as well. Kobalt slid his helmet on and drew his sword. _This is gonna hurt,_ he thought ready for whatever pain he was about to endure.

Kobalt was ready to collapse on his bed when he got back to the dorm. He was so banged up Nickole had to help him limp back to the room. They were just now getting to their floor and were slowly limping back to the room.

"I still can't believe you beat them." Nickole laughed

"Beat them' is a bit subjective don't you think?" he asked her "They completely wrecked me, I barely knocked out Jon's Aura before he shattered what was left of mine. Goodwitch didn't give me any time to rest after Dore."

"Yeah what was up with that?" she asked him "Wasn't that a bit, extreme?"

"That was the point." He said, a smile spreading across his face

"What?" she asked, sounding more than a bit angry.

"Good cop bad cop," he said "I come up, accusing her and being a jerk while giving her the hard truth. Then Jazz comes in all supportive and what not, and boom! She gets along with her team. Didn't even have to clue Jazz in on it, she'll do it on her own."

"That's…" she paused

"Genius?" he suggested

"Deceitful." She told him "But what's worse is it'll probably work. It's a good thing you don't have to make us get along."

"Yeah, it'd be a pain of you were into Tristan like every other girl. I'd have to put a stop to that before things got weird."

"And how would you do that?" she asked

"Probably walk around the dorm without a shirt on, that would take care of the problem." He laughed, then clutched his chest. "Ow, it even hurts to laugh."

"I'm not surprised, Robert did kind of catch you in the chest with that hammer of his." She said "Now, what was that about you not wearing a shirt?"

That made him laugh again, and he clutched his chest in pain again.

"You did that on purpose didn't you?" he asked her

It was another few days before Kobalt saw Dore again, but in his Grimm studies class that Friday she walked in with her eyes dead set on him. Kobalt braced himself for her cuss him out or yell at him, but she just calmly walked over to the seat next to him.

"You're a jerk you know that." She said as she sat down next to him "But thank you."

"Excuse me?" Kobalt asked

"I know what you did." She said as Port gave one of his long winded stories. "I heard you and Nickole in the hallway."

"Well that's a bit awkward." He said scratching the back of his head.

"You didn't have to be such an ass about it though." Dore pouted "You're still a jerk."

"Yeah, not going to deny that." Kobalt admitted "If it's any consolation I felt like a jerk the whole time, and I've got a recording of UMBR handing me my ass on a platter of you want it."

"I'd have paid good money to see that live." She laughed

"So how's the team?" he asked awkwardly

"Good," she said with a smile on her face, "I've never really had friends before."

 _Well that was fast_


	7. Chapter 7: Prior Commitments

Tristan was glad for the day off at last. He had never enjoyed classes before, but many of the classes he now had to take were even more boring to him. He didn't care about the history of the kingdoms, for all he cared past events could stay there. He cared about protecting the now. And he knew all he needed to about the Grimm, put a round in them and they died, all that mattered was where that round needed to go. The only class he enjoyed were combat lessons, and he still hadn't been in a duel. So much of his time in class was spent trying not to fall asleep.

So when they were finally done with classes that Friday Tristan was looking forward to so down time with his friends. Now they were all just chilling out in the dorm's lounge. Tristan was in the middle of a foosball tournament with Jazz, which had been going on for the last hour. Kobalt was stretched out on the couch with a soda in his hand and ice on his arm, he had pinched it in the doorway while leaving a duel. Robert Coal and Jon from Team UMBR were having another arm wrestling match, with Robert struggling to win. Ever since Kobalt "beat" them last week they had sworn to beat him one day. They had also become friends, claiming anyone who could beat them had their respect and friendship, depending on which member of the team you asked. Nickole and Dore were chatting about something, apparently their families knew each other, but the two had never met. James Marigold and Brandon Snow were arguing about something again, the two only seemed to get along in combat. Meanwhile Amy and Carmen were trying to get Justin, who was absentmindedly watching the news, to do something.

Tristan had been worried about his brother when they came to Beacon, he had never been a people person. He was a good guy and everything, but was very serious and had never had many, or any, friends. And on top of all that he always seemed angry, he wasn't necessarily, but the guy had been through a lot and his overall mood had taken a turn from it all. Tristan had caught glimpses of the boy Justin was before he lost his family, but those were rare. He was worried Beacon was going to be like Sanctum all over again, but Kobalt and Nickole didn't seem to care about his attitude he was their friend from the moment they met. And when Justin saved Carmen, all of JADE agreed he was awesome. So Tristan was finally able to stop worrying about his brother.

And now he was determined to beat Jazz in what had become a best of ten tournament. The match was tied with the next goal winning when his scroll went off, someone was calling him. He looked at his scroll which had been resting on the table to see it was Amber. He flicked the ball towards his own goal and picked up the scroll.

"Hey that's not fair!" Jazz protested "I wanted to beat you!"

He waved her off and answered the call.

"Hey babe, miss the sound of my voice?" he joked

"No, I call your voicemail when I want to hear it." She laughed at him "Seriously though, I miss **you**."

"I miss you too," he said walking towards the back corner of the lounge "How are things back home?"

"The usual, Dad's working at the school, Mom at the hospital, and I'm taking classes at Vale U." She said sounding bored "The only thing that's changed in the past month is you shipping off to Beacon."

"I did not **_ship_** off." He argued

"You moved out, you're learning to fight monsters, and you don't visit." She said "You might as well have joined the military."

"Well with Kobalt in charge it's more of a dictatorship." Tristan joked

"I heard that!" Kobalt yelled

"And what are you going to do about it?" Tristan teased, Kobalt just waved him off and went back to his soda.

"That was for his benefit wasn't it?" Amber asked him

"Yeah he's a good guy, great leader." He said honestly

"Good, God knows you couldn't have handled the role." She said

"Hey I…" he started to argue, then laughed "Yeah."

"So I was thinking, it's been two weeks since we've seen each other. And I've got the weekend off…"

"Say no more," he said turning to Kobalt. "Hey Kobalt, you got anything planned for us this weekend cause…"

"When was the last time you saw her man?" he asked, not even opening his eyes.

"Before I came to Beacon." He told him

"And you're not running into Vale right now?" Kobalt asked "You don't have to ask permission you know, besides I don't feel like doing anything this weekend."

"It's a date." Tristan said turning back to Amber "Tomorrow at two?"

"I'll see you at the café." She said "Don't be late."

"Come on this is me were talking about." Tristan argued before hanging up

"Hey turn that up." Nickole said, motioning to Justin, who picked up the remote and boosted the volume. Tristan turned to see a reporter covering the wreckage of a train. The graphic reading _White Fang Attack._

 _Oh no,_ Tristan thought, _Justin please stay calm._

"This is the third attack by the Faunus terrorist group, known as the White Fang, in the past three months. Adding to a large list of attacks since the group resorted to violence a year ago." The reporter stated "As you can see the wreckage is catastrophic, the railway is damaged beyond repair as is the train. Fortunately none of the crew were gravely injured, though most of them will be confined to hospital beds for a short time. Vale authorities are…"

Someone shut the TV off before the reporter could continue. Tristan noticed a long shard of ice hitting the power button, coming from Brandon.

"Sorry," he said "But I can't stand listening to that."

"It is pretty horrible," James agreed with him, likely for the first time "All those people hurt, and for what? The aspirations of a few crazy Faunus?"

"That's not it." Brandon said "It's going to work. Faunus like me and Carmen are going to be treated better because of this, people will fear the White Fang."

"There's nothing wrong with Faunus being treated better." Dore said

"No, but the way the White Fang is doing it is wrong, dishonorable." Brandon told her

"It's worse than that." Justin said, Tristan could tell the anger was boiling up in him

"They used to be a peaceful group." Justin raged "And now they've resorted to terrorism, destroying lives in the process. They have no regard for the lives they ruin."

He got up and stormed out, practically crackling with electricity as he did. The whole room was quiet after he left.

"You'll have to excuse my brother." Tristan said breaking the silence "he's not a subtle guy."

"He doesn't like Faunus does he?" Carmen asked

"No that's not it." Tristan told her "He's my adopted brother, his real parents were killed by those militant terrorists twelve years ago. He didn't have the best childhood for a while after that."

"And he's hated terrorists ever since, that right?" Jon asked

"Yeah, the White Fang in particular. He used to look up to them, because they were being peaceful despite all the things happening to the Faunus." Tristan told them "And now, well he took their turn to terrorism pretty hard."

"Is he going to be okay?" Kobalt asked

"I'll go talk to him, calm him down." Tristan sighed "He probably went to the roof to discharge."

"Discharge?" Carmen asked

"You try carrying around electrical energy inside you without getting rid of it every so often." He laughed as he left the room.

Sure enough he found Justin on the roof about to discharge. Tristan know from past experience not to get too close while he was doing it, he was still glad his eyebrows grew back. He watched as Justin flexed his arms and sent out waves of electricity crackling around the roof. The amount of electrical energy the guy could build up was intense. Once he was done Tristan stepped out of the doorway, showing himself.

"You alright man?" he asked "Everyone downstairs is worried about you."

"Why?" Justin asked, clearing not understanding why everyone else would worry about him.

"Because they're your friends, maybe?" he suggested "And you stormed off pretty pissed."

"I'm not pissed." He lied, pretty poorly too, he always averted his eyes when he lied.

"Like hell you're not. You and I both know that everything White Fang pisses you off." He said "And I get it, but you've got to get your anger under control. You can't just flip out every time you hear some bad news."

"That was a bit extreme wasn't it?" Justin asked "I think I was arcing lightning on the way out."

"Little bit yeah, I thought you were going to short the TV."

"That bad?"

"Yeah, you don't need to get that pissed every time you know." Tristan told his brother "The people here are out friends, you can trust them, but you need to chill. Besides it's not like getting angry will change anything, but learning to control your anger will make a difference later down the road."

"Thanks dad," he said sarcastically "What does my brother have to say?"

"The same damn thing." he said smacking his brother on the back of the head "Come on let's go back downstairs."

Tristan seriously could not wait to see Amber that day. He had woken up at seven and forced Kobalt to train with him so he could pass the time before going into Vale. He dashed to the airship as soon as he had changed clothes into his jacket and jeans, and checked his watch to make sure he wasn't late. Fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, of course the airship wouldn't leave for another five minutes but still.

 _I think I'm good._ He thought as he hopped off the airship and into downtown Vale.

Tristan walked as fast and calmly a she could to the small, family owned café named _The Boardwalk_. It was a nice little café, with seats outside and in, and some of the best coffee Tristan had ever had. It was also the place he and Amber met. He found her at their usual table, looking just like she had when they first met. Her chestnut hair cut just above her shoulders as always, wearing a cream yellow jacket over a pink shirt and jeans. She was sitting with her head rested on her hand, looking extremely bored. It may have only been two weeks, but to Tristan it felt like seeing her for the first time again. He walked over and was about to say something smooth when she looked up at him.

"You're late." She said, still sounding bored.

"I'm ten minutes early." He protested

"You used to be fifteen minutes early." She told him

"Well the airship at Beacon only left twenty minutes ago, and…" he stammered, trying to find something to say. He didn't get anything else out though, before he could her bored expression broke into a sly grin and she started laughing.

"God you're so easy it's almost not fun." She said standing up. She threw her arms around him in a hug. "Almost, God I missed you."

"I missed you too." He said hugging back "And one day I swear I'll get you back for that."

"Yeah sure," she laughed at him "If that was the first time you'd said that I might be worried."

"Fair point, so how's school?" he asked sitting down "I imagine acting is a major right up your alley."

"Is that an insult?" she asked pissed

"That depends, are you just pretending to be mad?" he asked

"How convincing was it?" Amber asked switching back to normal.

"If I didn't know you I would've believed it." Tristan admitted "So it's going well huh?"

"You could say that. My professor wants to move me up to the next course already."

"Well that was fast, it's only been two weeks."

"Well you know how I get when someone gives me a script." She said "Remember that play I was in last year?"

"You had me reading lines for you for weeks." He said "I had finals that second week remember?"

"Oh please you did fine." She argued

"Well look who it is." Someone said walking over to them. Tristan turned to see Alizarin Edwards, or Alin, owner of _The Boardwalk_ standing next to them. Despite being in his late sixties he still looked pretty young for his age. His hair was still red-brown and he was in decent shape.

"Mr. Edwards, good to see you." Amber said

"You too, it's been so long since you two have been here I was starting to get worried." He laughed

"It's only been two weeks." Tristan tried to argue, but for them that was a long time.

"Well you're here now, so I have to make up for lost business." He said "The usual?"

"I don't know why you bother to ask anymore." Amber wondered

"Me either, Alizarine!" he called to his daughter "The usual for the old couple!"

"One latte and one cappuccino coming right up, old man." Aline called back. Aline was in her late twenties, and until recently, was one of the only girls Tristan got along with without being hit on. Of course being ten years younger than her certainly helped.

Aline walked over to them a few minutes later putting their drinks on the table.

"Thanks Aline." Amber said not taking her drink yet.

"Anytime." She said still standing there.

"You're not getting us this time Aline." Tristan laughed.

"Oh come on! Won't you just tell me?" Aline asked.

For the past year they had a running joke of not letting her know which one of them preferred which drink.

"We told you, fourth anniversary and we will." Amber teased "Just one more year."

"Ugh you two are awful." She said walking back, once her back was turned they each reached for their drink.

"You know she is going to flip when she finds out we swap drinks each time." Tristan laughed, taking a sip of his cappuccino.

"Then maybe we'll push it back a year after that." She laughed "How does fifth anniversary sound to you?"

Before he could react, Tristan heard a loud bang across the street and his mind snapped to danger mode. He didn't even realize what had happened until he felt Amber shaking his shoulder.

"Tristan!" she called out to him "It's alright, it was just a car backfiring."

His mind clicked back on, he was standing between Amber and the street, Starfall raised in his hands and pointed across the street.

"Tristan, it's okay." She said again, "Its fine, everything's okay."

He lowered his rifle and realized his hands were shaking. He folded it up, holstered it on his back, and turned around. The whole café had their eyes on him, he saw Alin and Aline looking over at them with concern. Alin was walking over with a towel in his hands. That was when Tristan noticed he had dropped his cappuccino when he moved. And Amber had knocked her latte over as well.

"Sorry I, I…" Tristan started, but couldn't find any words.

"It's alright Tristan," Alin said cleaning off the spill. "You okay?"

"Yeah I, I'm fine." He said

"Like hell." Amber muttered "Sorry Mr. Edwards, can you put that on our tab? I'm going to take Tristan somewhere quiet."

"Of course, anything you need?" he asked

"I think we'll be fine." She said grabbing his still shaking hand and pulling him out of the café.

"It's alright Tristan," she whispered to him as they left "I'm right here, nothing's happening. Just calm down."

"I am calm." He tried to tell her.

"Tristan, you're shaking, you're hyperventilating, and you look like you just saw a ghost." She said a few blocks down "You are far from calm. Come on I found the perfect place for us to relax. But once we get to the park no peeking, its surprise."

A few minutes later Tristan had managed to get somewhat back to normal. His hands were still shaking but he was otherwise okay. They had reached the park, and Amber made him close his eyes as she guided him through the park by hand.

"This isn't some kind of trap is it?" he asked her "You not going to lead me into a tree or something are you?"

"After that little episode, no." she said "Okay right here, sit down."

He sat down, his eyes still closed and leaned back into a tree. He felt Amber sit down next to him and lean on him.

"Okay, open your eyes." Hs told him.

When he did he was glad for the surprise the scenery gave him. They were sitting under one of the bigger oak trees in the park forest, at the edge of the lake. The wind blew through the trees, and was the only noise he could hear. The whole scene was still and calm.

"Better?" Amber asked him, her head on his shoulder.

He took a deep breath, trying his best to calm down and relax.

"Better." he said after a minute "Thank you."

"Anytime." She said "You've always been protective of me, it's the reason for things like that episode. But I swear for the past year you've been even more on edge than normal."

Tristan didn't say anything for a while, she was right and he knew why. She probably did too, but didn't want to bring it up.

"It's been almost two years since that night you know." He said finally.

"I know." She said quietly

"Ever since then I've just been so worried about what might happen to you." he said "And what if I'm not around to…"

"Tristan just stop," Amber said lacing her fingers in his "you worry too much. It's stressing you out, and putting you on edge."

"But what if someone else…" he started

"Tries to kill me?" she asked him "It was one psychopath, a dark night, almost two years ago. And you took care of it, for the love of Dust Tristan I think you shot the man's hand off!"

"He was lucky that his hand was the only thing I had a clear shot of." Tristan muttered

"Tristan look at me." she told him, he turned his head so he could look her in the eyes. "It's not going to do you any good to worry about me all the time, your stressing yourself out and it can't be healthy. Its leading to things like that and it can only get worse. You need to stop worrying about me so much."

"But what if…" he tried to start again, before she silenced him with a kiss.

"Just shut up and listen to me." Amber told him "Nothing is going to happen to me, not as long as I've got you to worry about. As long as were together nothing bad will happen to me, even if you're not there to protect me. I promise."

"What would I do without you?' he chuckled

"Crash and burn, probably." She said, looking smug

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" he asked "Thanks, for everything."

"Anytime, so tell me about this team you're on." Amber told him settling next to him

"Well you already know Justin," Tristan started "Then there's Nickole, boy is she a handful."

"She hit on you all the time?" Amber asked

"No I'm pretty sure she's got a thing for Kobalt." Tristan laughed "Speaking of whom, he is something else."

"How so?"

"Huge scar across his face, more on his chest, and he has no memory of how he got them." Tristan said

"So what, he was attacked by Grimm and mauled so bad he doesn't remember it?"

"No he doesn't remember anything before he came to Beacon." Tristan told her "But don't tell anyone I told you that."

"Tristan, I of all people know how to keep a secret." Amber smiled

A/N

Should probably mention that this is not the same Amber from the show. When I first wrote and posted this chapter on DA the character's appearance had yet to be revealed and she had only be referred to once as Autumn. Frankly I was shocked when her name was revealed and her appearance roughly matched what I had come up with for the character. Go figure.


	8. Chapter 8: A More Practical Teacher

Nickole was browsing the web on her scroll while waiting in the arena, Kobalt had told the rest of the team to be there at six for practice, but it looked like he was running late from his last class. So in the meantime Nickole was passing the time reading the news on her scroll. Tristan was playing some game on his own scroll, and Justin leaned against the side of the arena perfectly quiet. This late no one else was here even for training, so they had the whole place to themselves. As far as passing the time, reading the news seemed to be a pretty poor way to do it. It had been all of five minutes since the got there, and it felt like an hour to Nickole. She was about to message Kobalt to see if something what was taking so long when she got a message from her younger brother, Aurelian. He was asking her for help on their father's latest trial. She laughed and told him he had to figure it out himself she wouldn't tell him what to do, adding that he could pass if he tried hard enough. The message got her thinking back to her time with her father's trials. A single time she had asked Auburn for help, he flicked her like she was a fly for that. With the Gareths you make your own path he had said, you don't follow behind someone else.

"Well geez don't stop the party now that I'm here." Kobalt said as he entered the arena, throwing his bag to the side. "I'm not that late am I?"

"What took so long?" Tristan grumbled

"Peach held class up, again, I really shouldn't have been surprised." Kobalt sighed "But, as long as I'm leader of KNGT I need to make sure you're all improving, that's why we're here today."

"What, you won't take our word for it?" Tristan laughed

"Well not you at least." Kobalt countered "But now that I've got someone else looking into my past for me, I can put some effort to leading now. Ozpin made me leader, so the way I see it, it's my job to make sure you train and improve."

"So what kind of training did you have in mind?" Nickole asked

"Excellent question, for starters my training is going to be pretty varied." Kobalt said "But before I can start the sessions I have in mind, I need to know what I'm dealing with."

"And your plan for that?" Justin asked

"I need to learn your fighting styles, strengths, and weaknesses." Kobalt told them drawing his sword "So, who thinks they can take me on?"

"One on one fights with you?" Tristan asked "I'll pass, I'm not a close up fighter."

"And that's one of the things I'll be working on, but for now I'll just be analyzing the way you fight." Kobalt added "So, who's first?"

"I'll go." Justin said grabbing his spear. He settled into a low stance and charged at Kobalt. When he was within range, Kobalt knocked the spear aside and stepped away from Justin's charge.

"You need to hit your target if you want to hurt them." Kobalt said "What are you going to do if your opponent's faster than you?"

As if on cue Justin slid his hands down to the bottom of his spear and spun in around himself. Kobalt simply ducked under the spear and closed the distance in an instant, bringing his blade within inches of Justin's head.

"You're good with that spear, but you need to be faster." Kobalt continued "I know you can do better than that."

"Why don't you ditch the training wheels Justin," Tristan laughed "Show Kobalt what you can really do, he can take it."

Justin nodded and leapt back away from Kobalt, he thrust his spear into the ground and Nickole felt the pressure in the arena drop. The next thing she knew Justin was surging with electricity and the place smelled like ozone. Justin pointed his spear at Kobalt and a bolt of lightning streaked towards him. Kobalt jumped out of the way, but Justin shot forward with the cannon on his spear and caught Kobalt midair. Nickole caught the slightest hint of a smile on his face as he spun in the air and pushed Justin's head down to the ground. He rolled as he landed and came up on his feet, sheathing his sword as he rose.

"Well I know what to work on with you, if that spear _had_ hit me I'd have been a goner." Kobalt said "Tristan you next?"

"I think you already know well enough how I fight," Tristan said "I'm no swordsman, just a sniper."

"Alright we'll work on your swordsmanship another time." Kobalt sighed "Nickole?"

"Let's dance." Nickole chuckled as she drew her own sword. This was going to be interesting, she had already seen what Kobalt could do with a sword. But he had never seen what she could do with one, and that gave her a chance to surprise him. Plus she had her shield, Aegis could take more of a hit than she'd let anyone know.

As soon as Kobalt redrew his sword, Nickole charged in shield first. She bash towards his head but he ducked under it and brought his sword up from below. Nickole spun and parried his sword away, she came out of the spin with a kick to his side knocking him away. She rolled in, sweeping his legs out from under him and bringing her shield down on top as he fell. Before her shield made contact and blast of energy pushed her back and sent Kobalt spinning away. She rose to see Kobalt pushing himself to his feet, his hand still burning with energy from the blast. Now she could see the smile on his face clear as day, unlike with Justin he was fighting back against her, and he was having fun. She transformed Damocles into its rifle form and fired at him, Kobalt effortlessly blocked each bullet as they streaked towards him.

 _Time for a challenge,_ Nickole thought as she readied her rifle along her shield. She activated her acceleration rune at the muzzle of the rifle and fired. This time her bullets blazed through the air fast enough to put a look of shock on Kobalt's face as they impacted on his Aura. She charged back in shifting Damocles back into blade form and slashed as Kobalt reeled from the attack. For the briefest of seconds she thought she had him right where she wanted him, then his eyes narrowed, and Nickole felt the temperature rise instantly. His sword came up from below, blazing with blue fire as he parried her sword away and brought his down on top of her. Nickole raised her shield in time to block the attack but she felt the force through it. She layered her impact rune on the shield and knocked Kobalt's arm back, as she thrust her sword forward Kobalt bent over just under her sword as it came in. Nickole watched as if moving in slow motion as Kobalt planted one hand one the ground, spun, and kicked her sword right out of her hand. It went flying and impaled itself in the arena wall. Now weaponless, Nickole backed off away from Kobalt, half expecting him to attack again. He just stood there, his sword raised as of waiting for another attack.

So she gave him one, left with no other options, Nickole threw her shield like a Frisbee at Kobalt's head. As he brought his sword up to deflect it, Nickole created one of her acceleration runes just in front of it, speeding it up and changing its direction. It zoomed past his head and before he could turn to see what was happening, Nickole made a series of runes redirecting her shield to her sword. It dislodged the sword from the wall and sent it flying in her direction. Now sprinting full steam ahead, Nickole caught her sword a sliced at Kobalt, who was just now turning back around. She caught him in the side, knocking him back and leaving him stunned for more than a few seconds.

"That good enough for ya Blue?" Nickole asked folding her sword up.

"I'm just might have to stop going easy on you when we start training." Kobalt laughed as he sheathed his sword. "That was pretty good."

"So what kind of training did you plan on doing after all this?" Tristan asked

"Mondays like today, we'll be doing team training. Coordination and what not." Kobalt said "Tuesdays me and Nickole will train together, Wednesdays I'm going to teach you how to use a sword Tristan, and Thursdays conditioning with Justin. Got to get you moving faster."

"What no special training for me, worried I'll kick your butt?" Nickole teased

"Do you honestly think you need special training?" Kobalt chuckled "I'd say we both need a good sparring partner. Now, who's hungry?"

"Well that wasn't a long training session." Tristan scoffed as they all filed out of the arena.

"Oh what are you complaining about you didn't even have to do anything." Nickole rolled her eyes.

The next day Nickole's training session with Kobalt made the one before it look like two kids swinging toy swords at each other. By the end of it Nickole could barely stand she was so drained of energy, she practically fell down onto the bench in the locker room. Kobalt came in a step behind her, grabbed a pair of water bottles out of a locker and tossed her one.

"You keep that up, and I actually will have to stop taking it easy." Kobalt smiled as he sat down next to her.

"It's just us you can stop bluffing now." Nickole joked

"How low did you get my Aura again?" Kobalt countered

"Shut up." Nickole laughed, "We really need to find out who you are, if only to know where you learned to fight like that."

"Is it really that shocking, it's just good swordsmanship if you ask me." he said

"Kobalt I knocked your sword in the air and you kept fighting me with your bare hands until it came back down." Nickole reminded him "Then you caught it and kept going without breaking your stride."

"So?"

" _So?_ That's your response? Do you have any idea how long I had to train to get as good as I am now?" Nickole asked, Kobalt merely shook his head. "I started training when I was ten years old, and I can't even do things like you can."

"I've got my own way of fighting, yeah it's different than yours, but you were able to keep up with me for the better part of that duel." Kobalt admitted

"You were holding back." Nickole reminded him

"Alright maybe a little, but…"

"But nothing Blue, you're a better fighter than anyone I've seen here yet." She added "And you're only a first year, what's going to happen when you become a Huntsman?"

"If I'm being completely honest I haven't really though that far ahead." Kobalt said "You know I'm not here to learn anything."

"Yeah I know, but it's nice having you around." Nickole admitted "You might not have come here to be a student or leader, but you're doing a good job at both if you ask me."

"Oh come on it's not like these classes are all that hard." Kobalt laughed "Don't think I haven't noticed you sleeping through Oobleck's class."

"Please, my family taught me history long before I even came here." Nickole told him "My father figured the less I had to worry about simple classes the better I'd do at combat training."

"Well he's not wrong, even if I'm holding back your still leagues above the rest of the people I've fought so far." Kobalt smiled "Dore and Justin can't hold a candle to you."

"What about UMBR?" Nickole asked, she burst out laughing when Kobalt just raised an eyebrow.

"What about you?" he asked "Where'd you learn to fight?"

"My brother taught me, with some help from my father." Nickole told him "Auburn would've done it himself but…"

"But what? He seemed like a nice enough guy when we talked to him." Kobalt wondered

"He is he was a great Huntsman too, but eleven years ago he was working on a case, and someone attacked him right inside our home." Nickole told him "He lost use of his legs."

"Eleven years?" Kobalt asked, for just a moment his eyes looked like he was seeing something a thousand miles away. Then he zoned back in with a pained look on his face.

"Damnit," he sighed "almost had it"

"You okay?" Nickole asked

"Yeah, just something about eleven years sounds so familiar." He admitted "Like something happened back then that I should remember."

"Maybe we should give that info to Junior." Nickole suggested "He might be able to dig something up."

"Give him a full year's worth of information and ask him to find a younger me back during all of it?" Kobalt asked "I think he's got enough info to find something already, and what I gave him is more recent than eleven years."

"Yeah I know, but wouldn't it at least be worth a shot?"

"No, the last thing I need right now is false hope." He said "Sorry Nic, I know you want to help but that's a dead end."

"Nic?" she asked, only Auburn called her that.

"Hey if you're going to call me by a nickname all the time I should at least get one for you." he smiled

"At least try to be more original." Nickole sighed "Alright, no looking into eleven years ago, you're right that too big a time to look into."

"Besides, we wouldn't even know what to look for, let's let Junior do the hard work." Kobalt said "I feel like I've earned the right to relax a little bit."

"That you have Blue."

"Besides, I've got my work cut out for me, I have to teach Tristan how to wield a sword." He laughed

"Best of luck with that." Nickole agreed "What's your plan?"

"Plan? I was just going to make him fight me until he started improving." Kobalt joked

"Well it would be entertaining." Nickole chuckled

"Nah, I'll think of something, or maybe my own training will come back to me or something." He said "I'll get him there that's what matters."


	9. Chapter 9: Falling

Walking through it Kobalt had to admit, the Forest of Forever Fall was truly beautiful, a forest of trees eternally red, even he had to take a moment to admire it. Today he was out on a field trip and they had all just walked into a large clearing. But as amazing as it was, he couldn't completely ignore his instincts to gaze at the trees all day. This place was crawling with the monsters of Grimm, and he felt himself go on alert the moment he stepped foot inside the forest. Everyone else though seemed too distracted by the trees to understand just where they were. Even his own team was busy taking in the sights, save for Justin. Fortunately, there was someone else there keeping their mind focused.

"Don't get too distracted by the colors kids," Professor Viridian said as they walked through the forest "This forest is outside the bounds of the kingdom, and you all know what that means."

Professor Viridian was probably Kobalt's favorite teacher at Beacon. She was the professor in charge of educating team leaders in, well leadership. And as a leader Kobalt had to attend her class, while the rest of his team only had to show up for certain assignments. Though Nickole would join him every so often out of curiosity. That being said she was a great teacher, Kobalt had learned a lot on how to combine his team's attacks from her lessons. And he had known the second he walked into her class that she was much more than her appearance made her seem. In class she wore a simple black jacket over a multi colored grey, green, and black shirt, with black skirt and boots. Her long green hair rested over her shoulder, and her gold eyes seemed to be constantly wandering.

Today however, she was wearing a shorter jacket revealing her robotic forearms. Kobalt was smart enough not to ask what happened to her, or he would be on the receiving end of those arms. They appeared to be very similar to the robotic arms of the Altesian Knights, only clearly more advanced. They matched the size of an average woman's arms and seemed almost like armor, with grey parts covering the inner black mechanisms. If it weren't for the glowing green lights, and if Professor Viridian wasn't pale white, the arms might almost pass for real.

"Alright, you all know why we're here!" she shouted "Professor Peach wants to gather samples from the trees in the forest. You all need to gather a jar of sap for each member of your team. You have four hours to do so, should be more than enough time."

"Which should give us plenty of time to chill out." Amy said in the back of the group.

"I wouldn't get too relaxed if I were you, you've all got an assignment from me as well." Viridian grinned "While the rest of you are gathering sap and gossiping, one team will be patrolling the area around us in a quarter mile radius from here. Each team will swap places with another every rotation. Ms. Madera, since you clearly want to 'chill out' your team is first on patrol."

Kobalt heard the rest of Team JADE groan and blame Amy for sticking them with the first patrol. The rest of the teams moved to the trees to start collecting sap.

"Let's get moving." Nickole said happily, "The sooner we get that sap the sooner we're done Peach's project."

"And hope Professor Viridian didn't hear you." Tristan said "Or do you want to go on patrol next?"

"I think were fine," Kobalt waved him off "Any of you know how to tap a tree?"

"I'm on it." Justin said walking over to the nearest one.

"We used to go camping a lot back in the day." Tristan said "We'll have that sap in no time."

Tristan wasn't kidding, in no more than a few minutes they had gathered all the tree sap they needed, plus a little extra. Apparently the stuff made pretty good syrup. With their main assignment done, and a team on patrol around the area, Kobalt felt himself relax a little. His team gathered with the rest around a rock in the center of the clearing. Noticing an alert on his scroll, Kobalt sat down on the rock and checked the message. More photos from Junior, potential places matching his memory. Nickole noticed him checking his scroll and walked over.

"Hey Blue, anything yet?" she asked him quietly

"Nothing, he says there are a lot of places matching my description. Could be some time before we find it." Kobalt told her

"I'll leave you to it then." She said "Let me know if you find anything."

He nodded and went back to the pictures, there were a lot this time. Junior must have been extending his range of locations, or maybe he was getting extra pictures. It was possible that he would only remember the exact location in the memory and not its surrounding areas. But even still there was nothing that looked even remotely familiar. It had been two months since Junior started searching, and there was still nothing. Of course he never expected to recover his memories overnight but still, he felt so close to something each day.

"Looking for a new background picture?" Jazz asked him all of a sudden. When did she get back from patrol? How long had he been looking at pictures? He slid his scroll back into his pocket subtly.

"Not really, just browsing the web." He lied casually.

"What are you doing browsing the web on a day like this?" she asked "Were in the Forest of Forever Fall, and you're on your scroll, looking at pictures that couldn't be more different then where we are."

"It's a long story." He said, hoping that would put an end to the conversation.

"You know, you may be our friend, but I can't say I know much about you." Jazz said

"Not much to tell I'm afraid." He said leaning back "Nothing special anyway."

Jazz looked at him suspiciously when he said that, he wasn't quite sure if she bought it.

"Okay if you say so." She said, "I'm going to take a nap, wake me before we leave."

Kobalt could trust all his friends here, he had no doubt about that. But he wasn't going to tell everyone he had no memory, even if they pressed him about his past. He realized pretty quickly that no one here knew him, if they did someone would've talked to him after he was made leader of Team KNGT in front of the whole school. He didn't see the point in telling anyone about his amnesia anymore, there wasn't anything they could do to help. His team deserved to know, he knew that going in. If they were going to get along, they ought to know the truth about him. And telling them was a good choice, Nickole had helped him get started looking for clues. And Tristan was doing what he could to make him feel more normal. Justin, well Justin was hard for Kobalt to read. The guy was more serious than he was, but Tristan trusted him and he seemed like a good guy.

Noticing him watching them, Nickole looked up at him from below.

"Anything?" she asked

"Nothing," he said sliding down the rock and sitting next to her. "Still nothing."

"I'm sure we'll find something eventually." She said, pushing a now sleeping Tristan off her shoulder "How are you holding up?"

"Well you know, slight amnesia, occasional panic attack from a bad memory, and I have to lead you lot." He laughed "But otherwise I think I'm fine."

"Kind of a redundant question huh?" she laughed

"Maybe just a bit." He said "Nah, I'm good though. Better than I was when I first came here."

"Glad to hear it. I was worried after that memory of yours came back."

"You and me both" he started "Thanks for…"

"Team KNGT!" Professor Viridian shouted from the edge of the clearing "You're up next on patrol, so get your butts in gear!"

"You heard her team, let's get moving!" Kobalt shouted to wake Tristan up. Nickole asked Amy to look after their sap while they were on patrol and the team headed out to meet up with Professor Viridian. They reached the edge of the clearing just as Team PINK came back from patrol.

"Anything we should keep our eyes open for Pearl?" Kobalt asked as PINK's leader walked passed him.

"Nothing, its strange JADE and UMBR didn't see anything out there either." She said collapsing her weapon.

"That's good, saves us some trouble." Tristan said

"Show's what you know kid." Viridian scoffed

"Excuse me?" Tristan asked angrily

"She's right," Kobalt said putting his arm out to stop Tristan, who was now walking up to Professor Viridian "Grimm should be around here in decent numbers, the absence of an enemy were one should be is never a good sign."

"Keep your eyes open." Viridian said "You should be fine, but stay alert."

"Roger that ma'am." Kobalt said "Let's move out, Tristan stay in the trees as long as you can. Justin you've got the rear, as long as were in the forest you won't have as much room to maneuver so leave the fighting to us for now."

"On it." Justin replied

"Quarter mile radius?" Kobalt asked Viridian to confirm

"Yep, don't go too far out." She said "Otherwise I'll come punch you back in."

"And on that encouraging note from our professor, we depart." Tristan joked

"Your just dying to get hit aren't you?" Nickole asked

"Come one let's get moving before Tristan says something else stupid." Kobalt said, his thoughts already wandering to reasons why no Grimm would be in the area.

He half expected the Grimm to show up during their patrol in huge numbers. He figured their luck wouldn't be as good as the rest of teams and they would be attacked. But halfway through patrol, there was still nothing.

"Somethings not right." He finally said, stopping all of them in their tracks. "This forest should be crawling with Grimm, where are they?"

"Migrating maybe?" Tristan suggested

"Grimm don't migrate, their territorial with one another and aggressive with humans." Nickole told him "Which you would know if you paid attention in Port's class."

"So where are they?" Justin asked "Kobalt's right, they should be here. But they aren't."

As Kobalt was trying to think of a reason a huge shadow passed overhead. He looked up to see a large airship fly just above the treetops above them, immediately he noticed two things. One, the ship's engines were on fire and two, there were multiple flying Grimm attacking it.

"Well we found our answer." Tristan said "Smell that? Burning Grimm, probably scaring most of them away."

The ship flew out of view, and a few moments later Kobalt felt the ground shake as he heard it crash not far from where they were.

"Tristan, go get Professor Viridian, now." Kobalt ordered as his mind shifted to search and rescue.

"On it." Tristan said running off

"I'll go with him," Justin said "Watch his back."

Kobalt nodded and looked over at Nickole, she looked as worried as he was.

"What do you say we go try and save some people?" he asked before he took off running.

"Right behind you." she replied, catching up in no time at all.

They found the airship a short sprint from where they were, perched on the edge of a cliff. It looked like it was barely balanced, and could fall over any minute. There were still some flying Grimm pecking at the armor of the airship, Kobalt unleashed a few focused energy blasts to kill most of the remaining ones, and Nickole picked off the rest with her rifle.

"We need to get in there." She said looking at the airship

"On it." Kobalt said running up to the nearest hatch on the side of the ship. He channeled energy into his hands and ripped the door off its hinges. The inside of the ship was worse than the outside, something must've happened to the engines, because the whole interior was engulfed in flames. Not worried about fire with his armor on, Kobalt sheathed his blade and walked in, a moment later Nickole joined him.

"Anyone alive in here?" he shouted over the roar of the flames, though he doubted he'd find anyone that easily.

"Over here." A voice rasped out, Kobalt turned to the sound of the voice. Two men were over by the back of the ship. One man trying to lift a fallen beam off another. Kobalt rushed over and used all his strength to lift the beam off the man. That was when he noticed while the pinned man was unconscious, the other one had large gash on his leg.

"Nickole!" he shouted "Help him out!"

She ran over and pulled his arm over her shoulder, together they slowly limped out of the burning wreck. Kobalt picked up the other man and carried him out. Once outside he saw the other man's leg wasn't as bad as he thought, the fire had burned most of the wound closed.

"How many people were in there?" Kobalt asked him

"There were five of us," he started "But two of them were in the engine room when the fuel tank exploded."

"Who's still left?"

"The pilot!" he shouted "Jewel's still in there!"

Kobalt turned back around and ran into the ship. The pilot would be in the front of the ship, in the cockpit. He bashed open another door and found the pilot struggling to get out of her seat. Kobalt cut the belt holding her down and lifted her out. Her leg had been badly burned, there was no way she was walking on it. He lifted her out and helped her limp to the exit.

Just as he was approaching the exit, something flashed in front of his eyes. And all of a sudden, he wasn't standing inside a burning airship anymore. Instead he was standing in one still falling. The hatch was open and tree's raced by beneath him. Green trees, in the distance he saw a small town. The airship was in ruins, but not on fire.

"Kobalt!" he heard a man's voice shout behind him. He turned to see a short bald man crushed under a large steel container looking at him, his eyes filled with pure hatred. He raised a pistol and started firing shots at Kobalt. Part of Kobalt wanted to jump out the hatch and fall to the ground, but deep down another part of him reeled in anger. He unleashed an energy beam at the man, it phased through him and the ship. But Kobalt felt it rock like it had been hit.

"What the hell did you do that for?" the pilot yelled in his ear. In a flash Kobalt was back inside the burning ship, the exit right in front of him. But the ship lurched and he barely had time to throw the pilot out and jump for the exit himself. He watched as the pilot landed on the grass one problem was cleared from his mind. He reached out as he jumped and barely managed to grab hold of the edge of the cliff with one hand before the airship fell, almost bringing him with it. Right about now, Kobalt was starting to regret wearing full armor, it was weighing him down, causing him to slip. Just as his grip failed, a hand shot out and grabbed his. He looked up to see Nickole flat on her chest, with one hand out over the edge of the cliff holding him up.

"Nickole, let go!" he yelled at her "I'm too heavy, you'll just fall down with me!"

"You're an idiot Blue, you know that! There's no way I'm letting you fall!" she shouted back at him, but he could already tell, he was too heavy for her to hold up. She started sliding off the edge with him, eventually it was just her hand holding both of them to the cliff edge.

"Shoulda let go!" he told her

"Too late now." she said, strained

"Nickole!" Tristan yelled somewhere over the cliff edge, "Hang on!"

But one look into Nickole's eyes told Kobalt she was going to last any longer. Her grip slipped off the cliff edge, and they plummeted down just as Tristan stuck his head over the edge.

"Don't let go!" Kobalt shouted as they fell. He didn't waste any time, he wasn't sure how long it would take to reach the bottom. He pulled Nickole into his chest and began channeling his aura into a shield between them and the ground. Whatever happened, he had to make sure Nickole at least survived the fall. It was his fault this was happening, if he hadn't blasted the airship they wouldn't be falling. But it was too late to worry about that now, he turned his head to see how much further it was to the ground. The distance remaining was staggering, the airship had crashed at the bottom, and Kobalt couldn't even make out a single defining piece of it. Things weren't looking good, for him or Nickole. He contemplated drawing his sword and driving it into the wall to slow them down, when all of a sudden it felt like he was falling through water. The sensation passed just as quickly, then it happened again. He looked up to see a large dark purple rune fade just above him. He looked at Nickole, who despite being pressed into his chest, was weaving a hand sign. She was trying to use her runes to slow them down. He poured as much of his Aura into the shield as he could in the meantime. He was hoping it would be enough when he blacked out.

"Kobalt!" someone called his name, he was starting to wake up. He managed a groan trying to move, his back felt like Robert used it for a punching bag.

"Kobalt, can you hear me?" He heard Nickole ask, he opened his eyes to see her leaning over his face, her eyes filled with worry. His helmet lay on the ground next to him, blaring an alarm.

"We dead?" he managed to ask her, still unable to really move.

"Not yet." She told him

"You okay?" Kobalt asked her

"Me? What about you?"

"Answer the question please." He told her

"I'm fine, thanks to you. I barely had enough energy to slow us down, I used a lot trying to catch you." She said "How do you feel? Can you move?"

"Well my back isn't shattered in a thousand places, but it hurts like hell." He said "I'm not going anywhere for a bit."

Somewhere off in the distance a beowolf howled.

"On second thought, I'm feeling a lot better now. Help me up?" he asked. He grabbed her hand and she pulled him to his feet. Almost instantly pain spiked in his left leg, he probably would've screamed in pain if he could've.

"Well that's probably broken." She said picking up his helmet. She slid it back on him and slid his arm over her shoulders to support him. "Come on, let me know if your radar picks up anything. We need to find someplace safe to rest."

"What about everyone else back up there?" Kobalt asked "They may be on the way down."

"I was out for a while after the impact myself. When I came to I noticed it the sun was going down." She said "Then I noticed you were still out."

"They must be looking for a safe way down." Kobalt groaned as she tried to help him walk. "Well let's hope there's an empty cave somewhere around here."

"Like right there?" Nickole asked, pointed just ahead of them. Sure enough there was a small cave, big enough for them but too small for any large Grimm.

"Let me check first." He said, slamming his fist on the cave wall, releasing a shockwave of energy with it. He depleted the rest of his Aura, but nothing in the cave reacted to his attack.

"Let's get you inside, you need to rest." Nickole said, slowly helping him in. She set him down on a rock and sat down across from him.

"So, we gonna talk about what just happened?" she asked him

"What do you mean? I think we both know we just fell from a cliff." He said pulling off his helmet.

"Not that." She rolled her eyes "I mean that blast you sent out the back of the ship. What the hell was that?"

Kobalt stared at the ground for a while, he was still trying to figure that out himself.

"It's going to get dark soon, we should build a fire." He said at last

"That's not an answer." Nickole told him "You can't just pretend nothing…"

"I know!" He yelled angrily, the look on her face didn't do much to hide her shock. He had never yelled at anyone like that before.

"Sorry, I don't mean to yell. I'm just frustrated." he said taking a deep breath "I'm still not sure what exactly happened back there."

"Take some time, I'll get some wood for a fire." She said standing up "You'll be okay on your own for a few minutes right?"

She didn't hide the concern in her voice, and he wasn't surprised. He expected he looked just like when his brief memory came back that night.

"I'll be alright," He said "Be careful out there."

"Be careful in here." She said on her way out.

Nickole wasn't gone long, ten minutes at best. But when she got back the sun had set the moonlight did little to illuminate the cave. She came back with an armful of wood and used a dust round to light a fire. Kobalt spent a few minutes in silence trying to figure out what happened, he couldn't explain everything he saw. Some kind of hallucination? But it seemed so real, so familiar. That was when it hit him.

"It was a flashback." He said upon realizing it. Pieces of his memory started stitching themselves together, a few blanks being filled in.

"A flashback?" Nickole asked him

"A _literal_ flashback, the last thing I remembered before coming to Beacon was being on an airship as it was falling." He said "Before now I remembered standing in the doorway about to jump, but that was it."

"And now? What happened while you were pulling that woman out?"

"I got to the doorway, and the whole world just changed. I was back on that first ship, I saw Patch outside the door. Then someone shouted my name, I turned around and saw a man pinned under a beam shoot at me."

"And that was when you blasted him." Nickole surmised

"Every fiber of my body wanted to just jump out the door, but ever since I lost my memory part of me has been so frustrated and angry at the lack of answers. I lashed out at him, but he wasn't really there, my attack passed right through him. Then all of a sudden I was back in the present. More parts are stitching themselves together by the moment. I feel like I'm losing my mind."

They both sat in silence for a while, Kobalt trying to figure out what was happening to him. Nickole was clearly thinking something, but he had no clue what was going on in his own head let alone hers. He had no clue what he was going to do about anything right now.

"You should get some sleep." Nickole said at last. "Hopefully someone will find us soon."

"I don't know if I can." He told her "I can feel my memory coming back, if I go to sleep, who knows what I'll see."

"But isn't that what you want?" she asked him "Don't you want your memory back?"

"Yeah but, well it's not exactly a fun experience." Kobalt admitted "Even now I feel like my brain is tearing itself apart. And after the last one…"

She knelt next to him and took his hand.

"You're scared of what you might find, I get that." She said, her voice soft "Your memories are coming back and their not what you expected. But if you let that fear rule you, you'll never go anywhere. You have to believe in yourself, I do."

"You should've been team leader," he said "You're better at helping others than I am."

"No you're good at leading, all I'm doing is quoting my father right now." She laughed "Listen to me, you can handle this. You're the guy who took on a mob leader and Team UMBR like they were nothing. This is nothing to you."

"We'll find out." He said leaning back "Thanks."

He closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

When Kobalt opened his eyes again, he was in a much different place. He was floating in a tube or tank filled with some dark blue liquid, attached to his mouth was a kind of breathing apparatus. His vison was blurry as it was, and he could barely make out anything through liquid. But he knew he was in the back of a small airship, flanking his tank were two guards in black combat armor. Further down, he could make out silhouettes but not much else.

"How much longer till we get there?" he heard a guard ask

"Were passing over Patch now, shouldn't be much further." the other one said "I hear that thing wiped out everyone in the base, how's he supposed to take it on alone?"

"Idiot, you don't know who this is do you?" A man shouted further down, Kobalt instinctively closed his eyes when he heard the voice "What's his status?"

"Why did he even need to be in the pod anyway?" One guard asked "How banged up was he before…"

"Status, not questions." Their boss ordered

"Vitals are good, he should be coming to any second now." A guard said

 _Now_ , Kobalt thought. He opened his eyes suddenly, and did his best to feign shock. He started breathing rapidly, and gripped his throat as though not getting any air.

"What's happening?" the man the guards called boss asked running down with a guard next to him "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't think he can breathe!" one of the guards said

"Well get him out of there!" the boss shouted

"Sir we have orders…" a guard started

"If he dies you'll have more to worry about than orders!" he shouted "Get him out of there! We can't afford to lose him!"

One guard punched a code into a nearby console, but it lit up red.

"I don't have clearance." He said

"Idiot, what do we pay you for?" the boss turned to his own guard "Break the glass."

The guard nodded, he raised the butt of his rifle and started bashing the glass. On his third strike the glass shattered, and Kobalt fell to the ground on his hands and knees. He ripped of the breathing mask and gasped for air.

"Kobalt, are you injured?" the man asked him, his voice cold.

"Director please stand back, we don't if he…" the larger guard started

"Silence. Kobalt respond, are you injured?" The so called Director asked

"I'm fine Director, there must've been a malfunction with the oxygen supply." Kobalt gasped as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Good, it looks like you've finished healing." He said "Lieutenant, hand him his helmet."

"Yes sir." the Lieutenant obliged, grabbing Kobalt's helmet from a nearby shelf and giving it to him.

Kobalt slid on his helmet, his HUD booted up, motion sensor registering a total of five people near him, the four in front of him and the pilot no doubt. For the briefest of moments he took a look at the scene in front of him. The Lieutenant stood directly between him and the Director, he was wearing Knight Class armor he must've been more skilled than Kobalt thought. The other two guards were standing there gawking at Kobalt, he overhead one of them whisper that he looked smaller in the pod. Both of them were wearing simple guard armor, nothing more than grunts. The director was wearing a plain suit, but Kobalt noticed a slight fold out of place, he must be carrying. Still though, only five people, and only four armed?

 _They really should've brought more men,_ a voice echoed in the back of his mind. _They'll regret it soon._

"Thank you." Kobalt said as the Lieutenant backed up, before anyone could say anything else, Kobalt raised his hand and blasted the Director and the Lieutenant back. The guards to his side raised their rifles, Kobalt sent out a shockwave knocking them into the wall. By then the Lieutenant was back up and charging at him with a knife in his hands. Kobalt parried it to the left and sent a quick chop to the man's neck. He grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down into a knee to the chest. Kobalt brought his elbow down on the Lieutenant's arm and heard his bones shatter, he kicked him away and turned back. He charged up and sent an energy blast towards the engines. An explosion rocked the ship from below, and pieces of the ship started falling apart.

"Contact HQ!" the Director yelled to the pilot "Tell them Subject Kobalt is…"

He was cut off when a large beam fell from above crushing his chest and pinning him to the floor. From here Kobalt could see the pilot try to open a com link. Kobalt kicked a piece of rubble towards him, nailing him in the back of the head. The pilot slumped over on the controls unconscious. Kobalt ran to the nearest hatch and blasted it out of the ship. He stood in the doorway, waiting for the ship to get a bit lower. He could make out a forest now, and a small town ahead of him. An explosion rocked the ship and he almost lost his balance, he grabbed the door frame to steady himself.

"Kobalt!" someone yelled, he turned to see the Director looking at him, a pistol raised, and his eyes filled with pure hatred. He leveled the pistol and started firing shots at Kobalt. The first few missed and hit the wall, before he could land a hit Kobalt jumped out the doorway. And plummeted to the ground. He started to slow his fall by spreading his arms and legs, but another explosion from the ship drew his attention. He rolled over midair just in time to see the whole ship explode, the shockwave hit him and sped him up. Before he knew what was happening he broke through the trees and hit the ground.

His eyes shot open, and he woke up gasping. His hand immediately went to his head, he felt the spot where he knew he landed. The bump was gone but the pain was back. Nickole rushed to his side.

"Kobalt!?" she shouted as she moved "You okay? What did you see?"

He didn't even know where to begin. He had more questions than answers, and he was more confused than ever. By now Nickole was grabbing his shoulders, trying to get him to talk.

"You're okay, it's alright, just relax." She said to him, her voice calm and kind. "Come on talk to me here, I feel like I'm talking to Justin."

"I'm good," he said taking a deep breath "I'm okay."

"You're a terrible liar Blue." She chuckled letting go.

They sat in silence while Kobalt thought about everything he just saw.

"You know I never thanked for helping me." He said finally

"And you'll never have to." Nickole said, "I made a promise didn't I?"

"To a guy you just met, you barely knew me." He laughed "You didn't have to do that you know."

"I know." She smiled

"So why did you?" he asked

"Well it certainly doesn't hurt that you're my first real friend. And…" She stammered "And you refused to leave me behind during initiation. If someone I care about is in trouble, I will help them no matter what."

"Thanks."

"So, you wanna talk about what you saw?" she asked him

"I don't even know where to start." He said

"Well if I were to guess Blue." She said "I'd say at the beginning, most stories start there."


	10. Chapter 10: Search and Rescue

"Nickole! Kobalt!" Tristan yelled as he watched his friends fall from the cliff edge, Justin stood there shocked that they had fallen. He couldn't believe that they weren't able to hold on another second. If they had Tristan would have grabbed them, or maybe he and Tristan were just too late. Either way Tristan had made it to the ledge just as they fell, he started backing away from the edge looking extremely pissed.

"I'm going after them!" he yelled as he started sprinting for the cliff edge. Before Justin could stop him a flash of green hair passed by his head and Justin saw Professor Viridian grab Tristan by his scarf and throw him away from the edge. By now all the teams on the field trip were here.

"Are you crazy?!" she yelled at him "Or are you just extra stupid?"

"My friends just fell off that cliff!" Tristan shouted back "I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing!"

"You jump down there you'll get yourself killed before you can help them." She told him

"How would you…"

"Tristan, you can't land safely." Justin said walking between him and Professor Viridian. "And that's a straight drop."

"Your teammates, your friends, just fell off that cliff!" his brother shouted at him "And you're…"

Justin shut him up by slamming the butt of his spear into Tristan's chest, launching him into a nearby tree. He knew better than to try and reason with his brother when he got like this, Tristan was even more unreasonable then their father was when he got angry.

"Were going after them, but in a way that doesn't end with us as paste on the ground." He turned to Professor Viridian "Professor, we should split up and look for a way down this cliff. I'll take Tristan and start searching to the east."

"Good idea, but two students might not be enough." She said "Teams of three each, Ellery, you're with the two brothers, the rest of JADE you're heading west. Indigo and Snow, you're with me were going to try scaling down, those two are alive I know it. The rest of PINK and UMBR head back to Beacon, alert Ozpin. And take these guys with you, I'm sure Oz would love to hear what happened from them."

"That's a big cliff professor," Brandon said "It'll take us a while to climb down it."

"We're doing it in case there isn't a way down somewhere else." She said "Now let's get moving."

Justin walked over to his brother, who was now reeling against the tree.

"Come on let's go." He said offering him a hand up.

"Damn bro, you have to hit that hard?" Tristan groaned, taking his hand.

"Yes, you get loud when you're angry." Justin told him

"I'm sure Kobalt and Nickole are okay." Carmen said walking up to them

"Then let's get going." Tristan said angrily as he forged ahead.

"Don't mind him," Justin told Carmen, "he gets like that when he's angry, and worried."

"It's kind of funny," Carmen laughed "Usually you're the one who seems like their mad most of the time."

"Most of the time huh?" Justin asked

"No," Carmen said starting on ahead of him "Sometimes you just seem bored. Come one, he's getting pretty far ahead of us."

"Yeah, you're right." He said running after Carmen.

They never caught up to Tristan, he was moving pretty far ahead but staying in range of their scrolls' com system. Maybe Justin shouldn't have hit him so hit hard, but he was acting like an idiot. Kobalt was tougher than Justin was and Nickole was the smartest of their team. He didn't have a doubt in his mind that they were okay. Either way Tristan was scouting in the trees ahead of them to make sure nothing surprised them. Carmen and he had settled into a light jog as they followed the cliff edge east. It had been almost an hour now and they still hadn't found a way down, and the sun had started setting. But the path they were on sloped down so maybe they would reach appoint safe to jump off the cliff soon. As they slowed down to rest Justin heard a low growl from the trees to his left. He stopped and put his arm in front of Carmen to stop her.

"Tristan," he whispered into his com "I thought you said we were clear."

"You are, no Grimm around here that I can see." Tristan responded.

As if on cue, a huge Grimm walked out from the shadows and sniffed the air. It looked towards Carmen and him and roared.

"It seems you missed one." Justin said drawing his spear.

"What is that?" Carmen asked behind him.

 _Easily the largest beowolf I've ever seen._ Justin thought

"An alpha," he realized "No wonder it wasn't scared by the airship."

"An alpha?" Camren asked "What do we do?"

"Just stay behind me." he said

Before the beowolf could do anything Justin fired Ascalon and propelled himself towards it. He expected his spear to pierce it with no problem like it always did. Instead he got knocked away as he was about to make contact with the alpha, landing over to its left. Somehow the Grimm had managed to attack faster than him. He stood back up and walked cautiously towards it, after dodging a swipe at his head Justin tried to thrust his spear at the beowolf's chest. But the wolf moved out of the way before it could hit. He moved in and swept his spear from the right only to have the beowolf knock it out of his hands with its arm. It knocked him away and he landed in front of Carmen. Damn, this was just the thing Kobalt told him would happen, an opponent faster than him was more dangerous than he thought.

"Are you okay?" she asked as he stood back up.

"Yeah I'm fine," he said "Stay back I've got one more move."

In fact it was his last chance without his spear. He was already approaching discharge levels of electricity within him, if he charged up a bit more he could unleash a huge blast of lightning.

"No," Carmen said walking out in front of him. Slowly drawing and extending her own weapon. A long spear with curved spear head, almost like an elongated heart. The edge of the blade glowed a faint red.

"I'm done just sitting by watching people get hurt." She said walking up to the alpha. It looked at her like she was a small animal, not sure whether to eat her or let her go. Before it could decide, she leapt in the air and drove her spear into its back. It howled in pain and reached up to grab her, but as it did, a small dark red orb appeared beneath its head and it fell to the ground with a thud. Another orb appeared midair next to Carmen and she flew around it back towards the beowolf. She drove her spear into its arm and landed on its back. But a second later both orbs disappeared, and the alpha lifted its arms and threw Carmen from its back. She looked like she was about to hit a tree when another orb appeared and she flew around that one too. She was headed straight for the beowolf's head with her spear out in front of her.

But Justin knew it wouldn't work, he knew from experience that this beowolf was faster than it looked. It knocked her out of the way and started running towards where she landed. Justin had to move fast, he sprinted over to where his spear had landed and reloaded it as fast as he could. He started charging all his electricity in the tip of the spearhead, and he launched himself at the unsuspecting alpha. It shifted its gaze left, just off Carmen and onto him his as he finally managed to pierce it with his spear. Though the spear barely pierced it between two rib bones, and the beowolf growled lowly at Justin. But before it could do anything else, Justin unleashed all the electricity built up in the spearhead, causing the beowolf to explode in a shower of sparks, and sending Justin back a few feet. He ran over to Carmen, who was sitting up against a tree.

"You okay?" he asked kneeling down.

"Yeah, thanks." She groaned "That thing was fast."

"Not a problem." Justin said offering her a hand up

"That s two I owe you now." Carmen said as he pulled her up.

"You don't owe me anything." He said "Like you said, I won't stand by and watch people get hurt."

"Still, thank you." Carmen added

"So what was that back there?" Justin asked a few minutes later "That thing with the orbs?"

"Oh that? That's my semblance." She said

"I figured as much." Justin said "What exactly did you do?"

"I can make dense fields of gravity varying in strength." She said "It's a lot more complicated than it sounds, but that's basically what it is."

"Really?" he asked looking over the cliff edge "Think you could make some to slow a fall down this cliff?"

She peeked her head over to take a quick look, the cliff was definitely shorter than the one Kobalt and Nickole had gone over. Justin could survive a fall down it with his spear, but Tristan wouldn't make it.

"I couldn't slow a fall." Carmen said stepping back from the edge "But if I really pushed myself I could make it so we could walk down."

"Tristan get back here." Justin said into his com "I think we've got a shortcut."

"That so?" Tristan responded "It's about time we found a way down."

"You sure you can do this?" Justin asked Carmen

"Yeah, but I need your help." She told him

"Done." He said "What do you need me to do?"

Once Tristan was back they explained the plan to him and Justin leapt off the cliff edge. Like during initiation he used the recoil of his cannon to stop his fall. Once he landed he dug his spear into the ground and fired rounds at the cliff face making holes, all in a straight line down. One by one the first three holes were filled with a red orb and Carmen started walking down the cliff face, followed by a hesitant Tristan. A few minutes later they were down back down on the ground. And Tristan was already moving on ahead.

"Come on, we've still got a ways to go!" he shouted as he ran.

"Tristan hold up!" Justin yelled after his brother to no avail. Carmen darted out ahead of him too.

"The hard parts done were down the cliff." She said getting ahead of him "We need to make sure Kobalt and Nickole are okay."

"Yeah I know." Justin said running after them "I just wish he would slow down a little. He's not wearing full armor."

But Tristan did slow down after a little while, and Justin and Carmen were able to catch up to him. It wasn't much longer after that they reached the wreckage of the airship. By then the sun had been set for a while and they were left searching for their friends by the light of the fires all around them. The airship had been in bad shape when it was still flying, but the plummet off the cliff had made it impossible to tell it had ever been a ship. Flames of the wreckage burned all over the forest ground, but none looked to be starting any major fires.

"Kobalt! Nickole!" Tristan called out as they started searching, but no one responded. Justin started looking for any signs that they had moved through here, footprints, blood, anything to find them.

"Hey guys!" Carmen shouted somewhere off in the distance "Found something!"

Justin ran to where she was crouched down, she was standing at the lip of a small crater.

"What'd you find?" Tristan asked coming onto the scene, Carmen pointed to the crater. "That's it? There are craters all over the place."

"And how many of them are empty?" she asked him

"They must've landed here." Justin said picking up his search again. Looking closely he found a single footprint pressed into the dirt, like all of a person weight was on it. He lit his hand up in sparks to get better light, sure enough there was a faint trail of footprints leading out of the crater.

"They went this way, follow me." he said following the footprints. They moved through the rubble along the cliff face until they found a small cave. Inside looked to be a single fire that was about to go out. Tristan took point with his rifle out, slowly walking in the cave just in case there was something there.

"He called you Subject?" Justin heard a voice ask, it sounded faintly like Nickole's.

"Yeah, I don't know what to make of that, or the rest of it honestly." Definitely Kobalt talking there, Justin realized. They moved further into the cave and saw Kobalt and Nickole huddled together next to the fire. Justin was right, they were alive and well.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Tristan yelled entering their view "I was worried my two friends were hurt or worse. And here you are, making googly eyes at each other!"

"We were not!" Nickole shouted at him

"Well I don't know about you two, but I only sit like that with my girlfriend." Tristan accused

"Hey man it gets cold in this cave." Kobalt argued

"He's right." Carmen said shivering and moving towards the fire.

"Doesn't matter," Justin butted in "You two okay?"

"Mostly." Nickole said

"Well then why were you waiting in here for us?" Tristan yelled again "If you're okay then why didn't you try to get back?"

"Tristan, come over here I need to tell you something." Kobalt said motioning with his hand.

"You can tell me here."

"Just get over here." Kobalt said

"Fine," Tristan said walking over. Kobalt motion for him to get closer, whatever he was going to say it looked like he didn't want anyone else hearing.

"MY LEG IS BROKEN!" he yelled into Tristan's ear.

"Well you don't have to shout." Tristan said backing up and covering his ears.

"Let me take a look." Carmen said walking over. Kobalt stuck his left leg out for her to see.

"It's not broken." She said immediately "Its dislocated, can't tell the difference?"

"It hurts, that's about all I can tell." Kobalt said

"Well grab something, it's about to hurt even more." Carmen said, she shifted his leg and pushed it back in place. To Justin's surprise Kobalt didn't say a word when the bone was shoved back in place. Instead he just slammed his fist down on a nearby rock.

"Better?" Carmen asked him, Kobalt swung his leg out to check.

"Better, still hurts like hell though." He said

"You should try to stay off it for now." Carmen said

"And we should all get out of here." Nickole said, helping Kobalt stand up. "Anyone know a way back to Beacon?"

Justin and Carmen looked at each other, then back to Kobalt.

"Who feels like going rock climbing?" Carmen asked, already starting her way out of the cave.

"Pass." Kobalt laughed, "Someone just told me to stay off my leg."

"We'll explain on the way." Justin said as the exited the cave

"How far of a walk is it?" Kobalt asked, limping along with Nickole balancing him. "Not sure how long I can keep up."

As he said it a bright light flooded the area and a pair of engines roared in the distance. Seconds later a Bullhead dropship came into view and focused its lights on them.

"Well it looks like you won't have to walk far after all." Justin said as ship lowered to the ground nearby them.

"Dropship ex Machina." Nickole laughed as the side doors opened and Justin saw Robert Coal stick his head out.

"Hey! Looks like we found you!" he shouted over the roar of the engines "Look who we picked up on the way down!"

The door opened further and Professor Viridian, Brandon and Indigo were standing in the ship waiting. They must not have gotten far down the cliff before the dropship came in.

"What took you so long?" Tristan asked as they climbed on board.

"Well we had to go all the way back to Beacon for starters!" Robert laughed. He reached down and pulled Kobalt on board and helped him to a seat. Once Nickole was on they took off back for Beacon.

"You alright Kobalt?" Professor Viridian asked

"That was the third fall in the past few months, anymore and I might start being afraid of heights." Kobalt laughed "But at least I had company this time."

"And you Gareth?" Viridian asked Nickole

"I'm fine, Kobalt took the worst of the impact." She said "We should get him to the infirmary as soon as we get back."

"I'm fine, my legs back in place." Kobalt argued

"And I thought you were the smart one on your team." Viridian said "Don't try to act tough, it makes you look like an idiot."


	11. Chapter 11: Realization

"Subject?" Tristan asked in the infirmary, Kobalt had just finished explaining his latest memory to the rest of the team while they waited in his room for his x-rays. "What does that even mean?"

Even hearing it a second time was weird for Nickole, it was an unsettling memory to be sure. But it raised more questions than answers.

"I don't know, but it's not good that's for sure." Kobalt said

"You should tell someone, one of the professors." Tristan said "Maybe they can help out."

"Who? Which professor would have the time to spare to help an amnesiac?" Kobalt asked "Certainly not Peach, Port's to loud, and Oobleck's too crazy."

"Viridian?" Nickole suggested knowing it was a bad idea.

"Too blunt, she's not one to help with this kind of thing." Kobalt said "There's only one serious professor here, and she's way too busy to help. Besides I don't think Goodwitch likes me."

"Ozpin." Justin spoke up "He's serious, and he's probably the smartest man here."

"He's also the Headmaster, I won't bother him with this. Not unless I have to." Kobalt told him

"What about that guy who came to the dorm back at the beginning of the semester?" Nickole asked "Who was that?"

"Qrow? He's a Huntsman but I don't know how to contact him." Kobalt said "And he disappears too often anyway. Hopefully Junior will be able to find something soon, that might give me more answers."

"How many barren wastelands can there be?" Nickole asked "He's been searching for a month."

"Just means the list is getting smaller." Kobalt said "It's a matter of time till he finds something."

The room fell silent as they ran out of ideas to help Kobalt. Nickole almost pointed out that just seeing the place in a picture might not trigger any memories, but she couldn't do that to him. Not after what he had already seen. Before anyone could say anything else a nurse walked in holding a file.

"Kobalt?" she asked as she walked in "Your x-ray is clear you can go back to your dorm."

"Freedom at last." Kobalt said hopping out of bed. He was able to stand on his own since they got back. His leg had healed remarkably fast. "Come on we've got exams we should be studying for."

"I think Port will forgive us after today." Tristan said

"Either way, let's get out of here." Kobalt said "I don't like it here, it's…unsettling."

"Good, I've been missing my pillow." Nickole yawned

The next morning Nickole woke up earlier than usual, it was Tuesday, she always woke up early on Tuesday. Kobalt was already up and probably in the shower by now. She rolled over and checked the time, 7:55, Kobalt had class at nine and she wasn't falling back asleep anytime soon. She climbed out of bed and found her way to the girl's showers. Jazz was already walking out, a towel wrapped around her. That was a benefit of a full girl team, she didn't have to worry about changing in a room with guys. Whereas Nickole brought her clothes with her to change.

"Morning!" Jazz said when she saw Nickole "You're up early."

"It's Tuesday." Nickole yawned still groggy.

"Right, so I guess you'll be joining us this morning, huh?" Jazz said

"Yep," Nickole said ducking into the bathroom. She turned the water up as hot as she could stand to wake her up faster. Even if she had woken up late she still would've needed a push to really be awake. The hot water really helped, she hadn't even realized how dirty she was after falling yesterday. Not only was she coated in dirt from the fall, but she had ash on her hands from making the fire. She probably would've showered when she got back if she hadn't been so exhausted. She couldn't even begin to understand what Kobalt must be going through on top of everything else too. Whatever had happened to him before he didn't deserve it, he was too nice of a guy to deserve what few things they knew happened. For the love of Dust, when he woke up after the fall he was more concerned about her than himself.

After she dressed she got back to the dorm room to pack her bag for the day, she had all of her classes today and they were basically one after the other. And she was going to Kobalt's leadership class too, it was going to be a long day. She noticed Kobalt was still gone, but Tristan and Justin were still asleep so she kept quiet. Suddenly the door banged open, and Kobalt walked in carrying two coffee cups. Justin rolled over in bed while Tristan sat up and glared at Kobalt.

"What?" Kobalt asked "You're alarm's going to go off in like, a minute anyway."

Tristan grumbled something about Kobalt being ungrateful for being saved last night and went back to bed. Something had been up with him the past few weeks, ever since he got back from his date. Kobalt just chuckled and handed Nickole one of the coffees.

"Figured you might want one this morning even more than usual." He said "I need one myself to be honest."

"Thanks, that was nice of you." she said taking the coffee and taking a sip. Nice and sweet with just a hint of chocolate, perfect.

"I didn't think the dining hall was open yet." she said remembering the dining hall was opening later than usual this week, that was where Kobalt usually got their coffee.

"It's not, but the teachers' lounge in Beacon Tower is." He smiled

"You broke in?" Nickole asked shocked

"No, I just asked Professor Port if I could use the coffee maker." Kobalt told her laughing "I don't think he cared too much. Now come on, or do you want me to be late?"

"Right sorry." She smiled grabbing her bag. Just before the door closed Nickole heard Tristan's alarm go off and him groan in frustration.

"You seem to be in a better mood this morning." Nickole noticed "Aren't you bothered at all by…"

She held her tongue, there was no telling if there was someone nearby who could overhear them.

"Looking gloomy doesn't suit me I guess." Kobalt joked "I figure I look better with a smile on my face than moping."

He had a point, she had noticed it back on the first two days. The guy she met back then wasn't someone she thought could ever be depressed. Yet later that night, when his first memory came back, he looked so afraid it was unsettling. It wasn't the Kobalt she had gotten to know. And then last night on top of that, the look in his eyes when he woke up, he didn't look like himself.

"You know what Blue? Do me a favor and keep that carefree attitude of yours." She told him "You really do look weird otherwise."

"You got it." he laughed

"So what do you think Viridian's got planned for today?" she asked Kobalt as they walked to class.

"No clue, but I'm hoping for a break after yesterday." He said

"Yeah I'm sure that'll happen." Nickole said sarcastically "She probably left a note on the board to go to the auditorium for practice."

"Probably." Kobalt laughed

But surprisingly there was no note, nor was there anything else on the board or on Viridian's desk. The whole room seemed void of all things learning or training. Even stranger Professor Viridian was actually there, but she wasn't sitting at her desk like normal. Instead she was sitting in a chair in the back by the end of the white board, looking at her scroll. No one in the class was talking, Nickole and Kobalt looked at each other confused as they took their seats. Kobalt looked like he was going to ask Professor Viridian something when the door in the back of the class opened. A tall man slowly walked into class, looking over all the students. He wore a combat harness over what looked like military style clothing. Nickole figured he was some kind of special ops Huntsman, his clothes were black with green lining, and he had some kind of light metal plate over his chest, elbows, and knees. His hair was white and wavy, and he had a bright green left eye. But that was all she could see of his face, the rest was hidden under a mask of bandages that covered everything up to the tip of his mouth, as well as his right eye and much of that side of his face. He walked over to Professors Viridian's desk and sat down.

"Sorry I'm late," he said casually "You wouldn't believe the traffic."

"And you are…?" Jazz asked the strange man.

"My name is Kage Midori, and I am your professor." He said raising even more questions

"I thought Professor Viridian was our professor?" one student asked

"No she was more of a substitute until I got back." Midori answered "Though she'll stay on as my assistant in the meantime."

"Oh joy." Viridian sighed in the back

"What? You told me you liked teaching these kids." He said

"Yeah, well _I'm_ not teaching them anymore am I?" she asked him

"If you want to leave it's your choice." Midori said, when Viridian didn't he went back to the class. "Anyway, I've been quite busy lately and my cousin was kind enough to take my position while I was away. Now I need to find out if she actually taught you what matters. I have one question, what's the most vital thing to leading an effective team?"

A few hands went up in the back, Nickole heard answers like bravery, power, and authority. Every time one tried to answer the new professor shook his head, and Kobalt chuckled.

"You there in the front laughing," Midori turned to Kobalt "What's so funny?"

"Me? Well they're all giving answers they heard from movies or TV shows." Kobalt said "Things that are important but not vital, they're forgetting the most basic thing that slips everyone's mind."

"And that would be?"

"Cooperation, if the team doesn't get along and work together they will never get anywhere." Kobalt said "It's so simple everyone forgets about it, besides by now most people either get along with their team or have dropped out."

"This must be the one you told me about." Midori turned to Viridian

"You two will get along great." Viridian told him.

"So my teachers talk about me behind my back?" Kobalt asked "Lovely."

"You'll survive, now getting back to the topic of teamwork we will be focusing on combination attacks today." Professor Midori said "I'm sure my cousin already started teaching you the basics of understanding your teams' powers, today we'll be going more in depth. As I'm sure you're well aware not every combination will work for a powerful attack. For instance, fire and water won't combine into an even stronger attack."

"They don't need to make a stronger attack though." Nickole spoke up

"An excellent point, assuming you actually know what you just said." Midori told them "Feel free to elaborate."

"Combination moves don't need to damage an opponent, in the example of fire and water they won't." Nickole started "But they will make a large amount of steam, which would serve as a good diversion."

"Precisely, what's your name miss?"

"Nickole Gareth, Team KNGT." She told him

"I thought Kobalt was KNGT's leader." Midori said

"I am, you could say Nickole is like my second in command." Kobalt laughed "She kind of audits the class every so often."

"Smart girl, now moving on…"

It was a good thing Nickole woke up early on Tuesdays or she never would have been there to see this new professor. Rumors had already started circulating about who he was and why he was absent for a large portion of the semester. No one seemed to have an idea about him though, most figured he was just out on some mission or something like that. It was a little disconcerting that they couldn't see his face, but every professor here at Beacon had some weird quirk, hiding his face was probably the least distracting out of all of them. One thing was obvious, he was an intense professor, and he seemed driven to make sure his students were good leaders.

After grabbing a quick lunch with Kobalt, Nickole rushed to get to her next set of classes, spending most of her day trying not to worry about him. It was weird though, like she was more concerned about his memory than he was. It was getting late and she had History in a few minutes now. The last thing she wanted was to be late to Oobleck's class, she'd never hear the end of it. As always when she got there Tristan was already at his usual seat, surrounded by his fans. Girls from most of the teams at Beacon were crowded around him, Nickole couldn't even get to her seat next to him. She still didn't know what all these girls saw in him, sure he was good looking and nice, but at times he could be a complete pain in the ass. And he wasn't anywhere near as funny as he thought he was. When he saw Nickole walk in, he looked like he'd been saved.

"Alright ladies that's enough for today I've had a long day and I'm tired." He yawned

"Here you can have my coffee." One of them offered

"Thanks but I only share coffee with my girlfriend." Tristan said

"Okay." The girl smiled, still holding out her coffee to him

"That's it I'm outta here." Tristan said pushing his way out of the desks. The girls started to follow him when he disappeared. Nickole chuckled and took her usual seat, Justin sat in his two seats down. When she noticed all the girls were gone she burst out laughing.

"How many times will they fall for that?" she asked as Tristan reappeared in the seat between her and Justin.

"As many times as it takes before they figure out my semblance is turning invisible not teleporting." Tristan whispered.

"Maybe you should just stay like that until me and Justin get here." She told him

"I wouldn't have to if you would get here earlier." Tristan argued "You can't body block them for me if you're not here."

"I still don't know what they see in you." Nickole said "Especially lately, you've seemed way more grumpy than usual."

"Thank Kobalt for that." He said

"What, you mean the whole thing from this morning?" she asked "Because you're alarm went off literally the next minute. Or are you still blaming him for your made up problems."

"He's a dictator! 'Be at the arena for practice at six.' He says, then shows up late each time." Tristan complained

"I'm going to ignore the dictator part because you're an idiot." Nickole said "And you know as well as I do that Kobalt scheduled practices around **our** classes and has to rush to make it in time."

Tristan looked like he would've argued further but professor Oobleck dashed into class and began giving his lesson. Even Tristan had to give his undivided attention to keep up with him. But Nickole felt like something about Tristan was off. He'd been sarcastic and rude the past few weeks now, something was up that he wasn't telling the rest of them about. He left after class ended without saying a word to her or Justin. She was about to go after him but Jazz grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out the other exit.

"Come on, let's get lunch I'm starving." Jazz said pulling Nickole along

"Lunch? It's almost evening, besides I ate with Kobalt." Nickole tried to protest.

"That's part of the problem," Amy said joining them in the hallway with the rest of JADE "You're always hanging out with the guys on your team. When was the last time you had any girl time?"

"Girl time?" Nickole asked astounded that was what this was all about.

"Well knowing what I know about your family, I would guess never." Dore said "It was the same deal with me, I was an only child and didn't have any real friends growing up. And my team's idea of girl time is not what I had in mind."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Amy said

"Well when you haven't really hung out with anyone before it is." Dore said

"That's great, can you let go of my arm now Jazz?" Nickole asked, and was relieved when she was no longer being dragged by her. But instead she was flanked by the rest of JADE.

"It's not like I've never hung out with anyone before." Nickole tried to argue "I used to hang out with my older brother all the time back home."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Amy laughed "It like you prefer hanging out with guys than girls."

"It's not like that," Nickole argued "My brother was a Huntsman but…."

"What?" Dore asked

"There was this accident, both of his legs were crushed." Nickole said

"And you wanted to make sure he didn't have to be alone?" Carmen asked. Nickole looked at her in surprise, she was dead on "What? It's what I'd do."

"See this is great, were bonding." Amy said as they entered the dining hall.

"I'll grab a table." Nickole said "I already ate after all."

"I'll go with her." Dore volunteered

"Make sure she doesn't bolt." Amy laughed as the rest of them walked towards the lines for food.

"So how bad is this actually?" Nickole asked once they had grabbed a small table by the window.

"It's not, honestly." Dore smiled "Give it a chance you might enjoy it."

"I'm going to regret this I can feel it." Nickole sighed

"You'll be fine," Dore said "I'm going to get us some tea, please don't leave."

"This is just what I needed this morning." Jazz sighed as she sipped her tea. She had waited in line for five minutes just to make one cup for herself. The rest of the girls had gotten their food pretty quickly.

"You know if you wanted coffee or something in the morning you could ask Kobalt." Nickole said "I'm sure he wouldn't mind making a cup for you when I'm not there."

"What are you talking about?" Jazz asked, then a smug looked crossed her face "Wait, do you mean you don't know?"

"Don't know what?" Nickole asked confused

"Kobalt only makes coffee on Tuesdays." Jazz said

…

…

"What?" Nickole asked, the realization of what Jazz said finally dawning on her.

"Every other day, Kobalt shows up to class without coffee." Jazz said "He only makes coffee on Tuesdays. One for himself, and one for you. I sure hope you know what that means."

"R-really?" Nickole stuttered

"Yep, speaking of which, where did he get it this morning? Weren't the dining halls closed?"

"He said he went to Beacon Tower, to the teacher's lounge and asked to use their coffee maker." Nickole blurted out before she could stop herself. "But that's just him being nice."

"So he went all the way to Beacon Tower, which is past your class, and brought back coffee just to be nice?" Amy argued "Nickole if I didn't know better I'd say you were in denial."

"In denial of what?" Nickole shouted, she could feel her cheeks glowing red. Everyone, with the exception of Carmen who looked uncomfortable, looked at her with the same expression on their face. A look that told her she knew perfectly well what they meant.

"So this is girl time?" she asked as she slammed her head on the table. "Next time I think I'll just run."

"So how long have you liked him?" Dore asked

"I do not like him." Nickole said angrily

"Oh please, your face is as red as Carmen's hair." Amy laughed "Just admit it."

"You two hang out alone more than anyone else I know. And it's obvious he trusts you more than anyone." Dore added "Besides, didn't you fall off a cliff trying to save him?"

"Can I go now?" Nickole all but begged

"Oh not a chance in hell, but this whole conversation has been about you." Amy said "I say we change it up a little."

"Thank you." Nickole said relieved

"So how's Tristan doing?" Amy asked "He mention any of us to you?"

Something about that set Nickole off a gunshot. Maybe the talk about Kobalt had gotten her worked up, or maybe it was switching to Tristan, who'd been a jerk to Kobalt lately that did it. Whatever it was she slammed her foot on the ground in anger and accidently triggered one of her runes in the process. Before she knew it she had sent the table flying towards the ceiling with her impact rune and she was standing there yelling at the girls.

"You want to talk about Tristan?! Fine let's talk about the guy who's been a jerk to Kobalt the past few weeks for no reason!" She yelled "Tristan's been blaming him for his own problems and been a complete asshole! But fine let's talk about him!"

To say they were shocked would've been an understatement, all of the girls were speechless and wide eyed after seeing the table launched upwards. They probably couldn't even react to Nickole yelling as it was, but the table definitely didn't help.

"Ms. Gareth!" a voice commanded from behind her, Nickole didn't have to turn to know it was Goodwitch, and she was pissed. "A word outside if you don't mind."

"Yes professor." She turned around and started walking towards the exit with Professor Goodwitch¸ who flicked her wand and brought the table back down. Nickole had launched it with enough force to impale it in the ceiling. When she got outside she figured Goodwitch would be laying into her about disobeying rules and inappropriate use of power. Instead Goodwitch just turned around and sighed.

"I expected better from you," she said, somehow that felt even worse "I was hoping you wouldn't be too much like your brother. Your father assured me you'd be much less trouble."

"I'm sorry professor, it won't happen again." Nickole told her "I didn't even know I could get that angry."

"Well fortunately for you we've had to deal with far more troublesome students before. If we treated every incident like that the same we wouldn't have any more students now would we." Goodwitch added "Just be glad you didn't cause any serious damage, or send tornados through the library. I don't think I could deal with another student like your brother."

"My brother did what?" Nickole asked astounded, the look on Goodwitch's face told her not to dig further "Never mind, not really important."

"Go back to your room, I'll let you off with a warning." Goodwitch said "I guess you're not like your brother, I can tell when a student is lying to my face."

She walked off without another word, leaving Nickole grateful for finally getting out of the dining hall. She was looking forward to getting back to her room where no one would prod her about Kobalt. So what if she liked him or not, it wasn't anyone else's business. At least Carmen hadn't joined them in ganging up on her, the rest of JADE had really gotten into her head though. She was looking forward to just lying on her bed more and more each step.

"That's it! I don't know what your problem is but you had better get over it already!" she heard Kobalt yell as she reached their floor "You're way out of line saying shit like that! I'll pretend I didn't hear anything you just said, but you had better get your act together!"

When she rounded the corner she passed an enraged Kobalt storming out of the room. When he noticed her the look on his face shifted from anger to surprise, then something else she couldn't place. He looked away and kept walking out the dorm, though he seemed less angry. She wanted to follow him and see what was wrong, but he looked like he wanted to be alone. Instead she walked into the dorm room to see Tristan on the floor, rubbing a bruise on his jaw. The realization of what must've happened dawned on her.

"What the hell did you do?" she asked as Tristan stood up and walked over to a mirror to look at his jaw.

"I uh, might've gone too far this time." he said sheepishly

"No kidding, I thought you tripped and bruised yourself that way." Nickole said sarcastically "What is going on with you, it's like you've been trying to piss us all off."

"I'm going through a bit of a rough patch with Amber, okay." He said slowly "It's been getting to me pretty bad."

"And that's why you've been such an asshole lately?" she asked him, he just sat there and nodded

"And of all of us you had to really piss off, you picked Kobalt?" she asked

"Well I never expected him to lay me out like that." Tristan said "I figured he would never hit me after the 'bookshelf' incident happened."

"Guess you were wrong."

"Yeah looks that way. I don't suppose you could apologize to him for me?" he asked her

"Me, why not do it yourself?" Nickole asked as her face turned red

"Trust me, I'm the last person he wants to see right now. He won't mind talking to you though."

"And why's that?" she asked

"Well for starters you're the one person he really trusts. And he only lets you call him that nickname of yours." Tristan said "Plus…"

"Plus what?"

"Nah you look like you might punch me if I tell you." he said "I don't have enough ice for that."

"I might punch you if you don't." she said

"You two are basically a couple, I don't know if you noticed but the guy likes you. And we all know you like him." Tristan said raising a pillow over his face "Not too hard okay?"

"I'm not going to hit you, just consider yourself lucky I'm in a good mood." She said turning to leave

"Really? You look kinda pissed" he asked, one quick look shut him up. Unfortunately shutting Tristan up was going to be the easiest thing about this whole event. She still had to find Kobalt and talk to him. Which would not be easy after having _girl time_. The sun was slowly setting when she stepped outside, there weren't many places he would go this late.

She found him in the gardens, leaning against a tree by the edge of the pond. His arms were crossed and his eyes were closed, if Nickole didn't know him better she'd think he was asleep. But she knew this was his way of calming down, and he was trying really hard right now, she had never seen him so set off.

"Apologize fast and leave, I'm not dealing with anymore of your shit." Kobalt said as she got closer.

"Damn, and here I was with this whole speech planned out for you." Nickole said sarcastically

"Nickole?" Kobalt asked opening his eyes and turning his head.

"Hey Blue." She said waving her hand

The look on his face shifted from angry to calm the second he saw her.

"Sorry, I thought you were Tristan."

"I got the feeling." Nickole chuckled as Kobalt slid down and sat against the tree. "He did ask me to apologize for him though."

"He's got some nerve asking you to do that." Kobalt said as she sat down by the water.

"Why's that? He knows you don't want to see him right now." Nickole asked

"Never mind, if he sent you he's either actually sorry." Kobalt started "Or he's the biggest coward I've ever met."

"His semblance is invisibility." Nickole pointed out

"You got a point there." He chuckled

"He seems to think we're in a relationship." She said looking at the moon's reflection in the water.

"I don't think I know how to be in a relationship." Kobalt laughed

"You don't know a lot of things." Nickole reminded him "You have amnesia, not knowing things comes with the territory."

"I know I like you." he said quietly

"What?!" she asked standing up. She shouldn't have been surprised, everyone had been saying that all day. But hearing it from him meant it was true, not just some rumor being used to tease her.

"You can't just say something like that out of nowhere!" she reflexively yelled "People might get the wrong idea!"

"There's nothing to get the wrong idea about." He said calmly "I'm trying to say something here you know?"

"You really mean that?" she asked "You're not messing with me?"

"Of course I mean it, besides it would be cruel to mess with a person like that." He said

"Why do you even like me?" she asked backing up "I'm quick tempered, reckless, stubborn…"

She hadn't realized how close to the edge of the grass she was until she lost her balance on her next step and started falling towards the water. Faster than a bullet Kobalt shot up and caught her before she hit the water.

"As to why I like you; you're funny, smart, brave, kind, and only about half as quick tempered and reckless as I am." He smiled. "You risked your life to save me, and helped me out where no one else could."

"Um, Kobalt." She said noticing he was still holding her "You can put me down now."

"I'm not sure if I want to." He said "Do you want me to?"

"You're so not making this easy, you know that." She told him

"I don't know a lot of things, someone told me it had something to do with amnesia or…"

She never let him finish, she pulled his head down and kissed him.

"So I take it that means you feel the same?" Kobalt asked

"Of course it does you idiot!" she said standing up on her own

"You sure? Cause it's not going to be easy with me." he said

"When has it ever been easy with you?" she laughed, he leaned in and kissed her again.

"That was easy," Kobalt said as he pulled back

"AND SCENE!" Someone shouted in the darkness.

"Tristan?" Kobalt called out, across the pond what little light there was shifted, and Tristan materialized out of thin air. His scroll was raised in his hand like he was taking a picture.

"Finally!" he laughed "We've all been waiting for you two to hook up. I guess you just needed a little push."

"Push? So that's the reason you were pissed at Kobalt…" Nickole started

"Pissed at me?" Kobalt asked "He was being a jerk to **you** behind your back. That's why I laid him out."

"What?"

"Yeah, he was saying 'if you weren't crazy for her you'd see that she's….' actually I think I'll stop there." Kobalt said

"Probably for the best." Tristan said

"And you and Amber?" Nickole asked

"We're fine, she was watching this whole time." Tristan said turning his scroll towards them. Barely visible on the screen was a girl with short brown hair

"Um hi." She squeaked nervously

"She's been helping me with my acting so I could play my role convincingly." Tristan said

"And you told me you were working on a video project!" Amber shouted regaining composure "Not manipulating your friends!"

"Sorry?" Tristan tried

"Sorry? You think sorry is going to be enough…." And suddenly Amber cut out.

"Oh crap, the battery died!" Tristan said freaking out "I'm going to catch hell for this later!"

"Later?" Nickole asked him "Why's that?"

"Well I have to charge the battery back up." Tristan said looking dumbfounded

"Why bother?" she asked him "You've got me to deal with right now!"

She boosted herself with a rune towards him gave her best shot at kicking him in his damn head. He managed to duck under it, but she followed through with a punch aimed at his chest. If her head was clear she probably would've used the hand to hand training her father gave her, but she was so full of rage she just chased Tristan around the garden.

"Well this was certainly worth the wait." Jazz laughed, Nickole stopped to see all of JADE walking up

"Jazz?" Nickole asked "Oh my god you we're in on this weren't you?"

"What can I say? We just couldn't stand to see you and Kobalt going on the way you were." Jazz teased

"Consider it payback for our duel." Dore said to Kobalt

"I was helping you get along with your team, not setting you up with a member of it!" Kobalt argued

"Are you complaining about the result?" Jazz asked

"No but it's nothing like what I did!"

"You're right its way better!" Dore laughed

"We just thought it was a good idea." Amy said

"Whose idea?" Kobalt asked her

"Tristan's." they all said together

Nickole had never seen Kobalt make a look like the one he shot Tristan, a mixture of happiness and pure rage.

"You're damn lucky this worked out," he said "You do know that?"

"Does that mean you'll let me off the hook?" Tristan asked

"Not a chance in hell." Kobalt said raising his hand, for a second Nickole thought he was going to blast Tristan. Then a ring of light emerged from his hand and wrapped around Tristan's arms.

"Now he won't be able to defend himself," Kobalt said "Kick his ass sweetie!"

"Gladly, Blue." Nickole said cracking her knuckles.

"Now I know what you're thinking" Tristan said as she advanced on him " 'Is what he did really that bad?' And the answer may surprise you."

"Actually I was thinking your girlfriend might let you off the hook for the whole phone thing when she sees you." Nickole said, with that Tristan shuttered with fear and tried to turn invisible. But the binds Kobalt had put on him were still clear as day, and Tristan took off running.

"Get back here you manipulative jerk!" Nickole shouted as she chased him

"Boy you are in for one bumpy ride, Kobalt." Jazz laughed

"Yep, Nickole is a bit of a handful." Kobalt sighed

"Excuse me?" Nickole stopped and asked her new boyfriend "Whose a handful, Mr. Amnesiac?!"

She hadn't even realized what she said until the words came out of her mouth, she immediately clamped her mouth with her hands to keep from saying anything else. Kobalt had one secret, and she had just blurted it out to all of JADE. Not even ten minutes into this relationship and she'd bombed it.

"Amnesiac? Kobalt what's she talking about?" Amy asked

"Shit, Kobalt I…I'm so sorry." She started, before she knew what was happening he was standing next to her with his arm over her shoulder.

"It's okay, they would've found out eventually." He said, the smile still not leaving his face.

"Kobalt what's going on?" Dore asked "What's does she mean Mr. Amnesiac?"

"It's a long story." Tristan said, becoming visible again "I'm actually working on a script, I thinks it's going to be great."

"Actually it's kind of short." Kobalt said "But you're all going to have lots of questions with Tristan's version so let me sum it up. I lost my memory before I came to Beacon, yes I'm okay, no I don't need any more help, I'm working on it. I forget anything Nickole?"

"Not that I can think of." She said "But please don't tell anyone else, we don't want this to get out to the whole Academy."

"Don't worry, everyone will be talking about the newest couple on campus." Carmen smiled

"Speaking of which, Kobalt we should probably talk." Nickole said "Alone."

"You all go on ahead, we'll catch up." Kobalt said

"You sure you want this?" Nickole asked once everyone was gone. "Tristan did just orchestrate the whole thing."

"Is that going to change how I feel?" he asked her, when she didn't respond he just smiled "I didn't think so, in the meantime I think our first job as a couple should be to make his life hell the next few days."

"Agreed." Nickole smiled


	12. Chapter 12: Double Dates and Exams

Classes went by in a flash the next day, Tristan and Kobalt were sitting on their beds in the dorm waiting for Nickole to get back from class. She opened the door and almost immediately collapsed on Kobalt's bed when she walked in.

"If I half to hear one more person ask me if we're really dating I'm going to lose it." she mumbled into his pillow.

"So I take you had a fun day?" Tristan asked sarcastically

"Can we just go on this double date so I can relax?" she asked

"We're just waiting on you," Kobalt said "I imagine you'll want to change out of your uniform."

"I'll make it quick, Kobalt, make sure he doesn't peep." Nickole said moving over to her dresser

"You make me sound like some pervert." Tristan complained

Nickole did make it quick, and within a few minutes they were boarding the airship to downtown Vale. The whole ride down Tristan couldn't help but notice how Kobalt and Nickole looked so natural as a couple. It was weird, neither of them had been in a relationship before, yet they seemed so at ease. It probably didn't hurt that they had basically been a couple in the first place, but it was still strange. It was a long walk to _The Boardwalk_ for Tristan, he wasn't used to being like the third wheel. Fortunately it wouldn't be that way for long, Amber was waiting at a large table for them all when they got to the café.

"Kobalt, Nickole, this is Amber." Tristan said introducing them.

"Nice to finally meet you in person," Nickole smiled "And not on Tristan's scroll."

"Don't even get me started on that," Amber said sitting down "Thanks for saving me the trouble of chewing him out, it gets to be such a chore sometimes."

"I bet, he's a pain to deal with as a leader." Kobalt laughed "I can only imagine how big of a pain he must be for you."

"He has his moments." Amber laughed "You must be Kobalt, you're kinda cute."

"I'd say he's more ruggedly handsome." Nickole smiled, even Tristan could tell she was staring daggers at Amber "He's no male model like Tristan, but it suits him better."

"Good for you, mark your territory and don't back down." Amber smiled "You and I are going to get along great."

"I hope so, I could use a normal friend." Nickole laughed

"And from what Tristan tells me you're a pretty cool guy yourself Kobalt." Amber said

"Really?" Kobalt asked "What has he told you?"

"For starters he said you're a 'crazy good fighter, but a bit of a hard-ass'." Amber laughed

"Coming from Tristan I'm going to take that as a compliment." Kobalt sighed

"Well this is a first." Alin said walking over "I don't think I've ever seen you two here on a double date."

"That's because I've never met a girl who wouldn't ditch her boyfriend for Tristan before." Amber said "Mr. Edwards this is Nickole and Kobalt."

"Don't worry you won't have that problem with me." Nickole laughed "I'm more likely to shoot him."

"You didn't get it all out of your system last night?" Tristan sighed

"Not even close."

"So what can I get you all?" he asked "No don't tell me, _the usual_."

"Maybe you should make a special for us." Tristan laughed

"And what about you two?" Alin asked the new couple

"I'll have an iced mocha." Nickole said

"Just tea for me." Kobalt said

"Alizarine, one usual, one mocha and tea!" Alin yelled over his shoulder "They'll be right up."

"Thanks, so if you don't mind my asking, how did you two meet each other?" Amber asked

"Funny story, I guess we actually have Tristan to thank for that." Kobalt laughed

"No way."

"Yeah, when we first landed at Beacon, Tristan here was being chased by a mob of girls." Nickole said

"Naturally." Amber laughed

"So I'm walking down the main avenue at Beacon, when all of a sudden one of these girls bangs my shoulder." Kobalt continued "Sending my helmet flying, and guess who picked it up?"

"Wait don't tell me," Amber chuckled "Tristan you need to stop these antics or I'm going to think you're playing love doctor."

"So I land and run into Tristan during initiation," Kobalt kept up "and at first I'm giving him a hard time about the whole thing. But somewhere in the back of my mind I'm thinking, 'if it weren't for this guy I never would've run into that cute girl yesterday' so I eased off him a little."

"So I guess you two owe me big time huh?" Tristan tried to joke

"Tell you what, since we 'owe' you I'll be nice." Kobalt said "Don't open your dresser when we get back."

"Why?"

"Don't worry about it." Kobalt chuckled

"Drinks coming up." Aline said bringing their coffees "One mocha, one tea, and the usual for the old farts here."

"Thanks Aline." Amber said, "Done trying to trick us?"

"Actually I was too curious about this new couple to come up with anything." She said "It's not every day you two are on a double date."

"It's not that big of a deal." Tristan argued

"It is, so can we expect to see you two here more often?" Aline asked Nickole and Kobalt "It'd be great to have a **new** couple here for a change."

"Hey I thought we were friends!" Tristan said feigning insult

"We are, but if we get a reputation here for being a romantic café more people may come here." Aline said "Maybe even a cute guy my age." She added wishfully

"Well I'd offer to introduce you to my brother, but I doubt I could get him to leave work for an hour." Nickole laughed

"Why don't you leave playing love doctor to me Nickole?" Tristan asked

"Oh please you got lucky one time." she smirked "And JADE did more work than you did."

"It was my idea!"

"And you got lucky." Amber agreed "Of course I must take some credit, you wouldn't have pulled off the act without my help."

"You're right Amber, we are going to get along great." Nickole laughed

"Fantastic, I'm starting to think I've got rotten luck when it comes to friends and girls." Tristan sighed "Aren't you worried about them ganging up on us Kobalt?"

"As long as my girlfriend is happy I'm happy." Kobalt smiled into his drink "Shouldn't that be enough?"

"I don't care if that was real or a cop out that was the right answer." Amber laughed "Tristan maybe you should take some advice from Kobalt."

"This is going to be my life now isn't it?" Tristan asked

"Don't worry man, at least you've still got your health." Kobalt joked, drawing a laugh from the girls.

"Smart, good looking and funny, I've made quite the catch haven't I?" Nickole asked

"Well not to toot my own horn or anything," Kobalt smiled, then Tristan heard his scroll go off. Kobalt reached into his pocket to check and the smile left his face.

"What is it?" Tristan asked

"We got our exam from Midori," Kobalt said "We have to track, apprehend, and return a target from the Emerald Forest tomorrow."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Amber offered

"You don't know our target." Kobalt said, sliding his scroll to the middle of the table. In the center of the screen was a picture Professor Viridian.

"You're kidding me, she knows how you think." Nickole said "There's no way Midori thinks that's fair."

"He knows it's not fair." Kobalt said "He wants it to be a challenge."

"I guess our little double date is over then." Amber sighed

"No chance I'm letting that happen." Kobalt said surprisingly

"But don't you have to go get ready for this exam?" Amber asked "You said it would be tough."

"If there's one thing Midori and Viridian don't know about me, it's that I know how to improvise." Kobalt said "And as hard as it will be, I have every ounce of confidence we can pull this off."

"Great speech man, if only Justin was around to hear it." Tristan said

"Besides, we've spent the whole date making fun of Tristan." Kobalt said "Let's go have some fun."

"Alright then, where to?" Amber asked

"Well don't look at me, this is my first date I have no clue what I'm doing." Kobalt laughed

"How about a picnic? We order some sandwiches to go and head to the park." Nickole suggested

"Works for me." Tristan said

"Then what are we waiting for?" Amber asked flagging down Alin.

To say the picnic was a good idea would've been an understatement, the park was quiet and calm. The girls spent most of the time getting to know each other while Tristan did some planning with Kobalt for their exam. They hadn't even been looking at the sky the whole time they were there. If they had they probably would've realized it was getting late. By the time they did Nickole was sleeping on Kobalt shoulder, and Amber in Tristan's lap.

"Boy they really wiped themselves out huh?" Kobalt asked

"Never underestimate Amber when it comes to telling stories." Tristan chuckled "She'll act out everyone in it."

"I suppose were going to have to go back and get some rest ourselves huh?" Kobalt asked "Don't want to be tired for that exam."

"How are we even going to find her in there man?" Tristan asked "The leaves from the trees will block my line of sight even if you can get me up high."

"And thermals are a no go for the same reason." Kobalt added

"Who needs thermals," Nickole yawned, still half asleep "When our target has a pair of robotic arms."

"Justin can sense electrical energy." Tristan remembered

"And if her Aura is being channeled through them wouldn't they need some kind of energy adapter?" Kobalt asked

"Atlas prosthetics have an Aura wave generator." Amber yawned waking up

"They would emit low levels of radiation, visible on any wavelength calibrated sight." Nickole yawned again

"I think I love you right now." Kobalt laughed kissing Nickole on the forehead

"Damn right you do." She smirked, falling back asleep

"How do you know that Amber?" Kobalt asked

"My mom works at the hospital, she's been asked to attach cybernetic limbs by Atlas before." She said "She spent months researching them to prepare for the surgery."

"Guess today was our lucky day." Kobalt said nudging Nickole "Come on, let's get back."

"Too tired, just five more minutes." She complained

"If I know you five more minutes will be five more hours." Kobalt sighed standing up "Guess I'll just have to carry you."

Kobalt picked Nickole up and shifted her so she was on his back.

"How come you never carry me like that?" Amber asked Tristan

"Because I'm not that whipped yet." he said

"Tristan, you are more whipped then he could ever be." Amber laughed as they headed for the air taxi.

"The four of you ready?" Professor Midori asked them as they stood once again at the cliff edge of the Emerald Forest.

"Would it make a difference?" Kobalt asked

"Not really, you know your target in the forest somewhere." He said "She won't be too far out, she has a limit on just how far she can roam. Say the word and I'll launch you in."

"Actually professor, I was hoping you would allow Tristan to stay up her on the cliff." Kobalt said "It's part of my plan."

"Is it now, and if I say no?" Midori asked

"I throw him back up here and we get on with our mission."

"Throw?" Tristan asked "I never agreed to that."

"I'm almost tempted to say no just to see that." Midori chuckled "Very well, Mr. Glaucous step off your plate."

"You're a saint professor." Tristan breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped off his plate and set up his sniper on the cliff edge. "I'll start scanning ASAP."

"Alright then professor, were ready." Kobalt said

"Good, off you go." Midori said pressing a button on his scroll. The rest of KNGT was launched into the forest in a heartbeat. Once they were airborne Professor Midori pulled a book out of his jacket and started reading.

"You're not going to pay attention?" Tristan asked out of curiosity "How do you plan on grading?"

"Hm? Oh that, Alexis will give me a full report on your team once this is over." He said lazily "In the meantime I've been dying to finish this book."

"Well I hope it's a good story." Tristan muttered

"Oh it's great, the tale of a young man's journey to return home from the Great War." Midori said more excited than Tristan thought possible over a book.

"Wonderful, Kobalt you landed yet?" Tristan called out in the com.

"Just hit the ground, how's the sight working?" he asked

"So far so good, everything's…grey." Tristan told him, he'd had just enough time last night to scrap together a scope calibrated to see different wavelengths of radiation. Amber had given him the exact spectrum he would need to set it to, the radiation emitted by Viridian's arms would show up as bright green ripples. But everything else was so grey it was almost depressing.

"Let me know the second you spot anything." Kobalt said "What's your maximum range with that rifle?"

"You want me to be able to hit a moving target, I'd say eight hundred meters. Anything more than that and I won't be able to lead accurately." Tristan said, fudging the truth more than a bit "Not like it matters, I can barely see through these trees."

"What if I were to tag Viridian on my IFF as hostile? She'd light up red on my HUD." Kobalt suggested "Think your normal scope can handle an IFF extension?"

"That might work, it already uses friendly tags." Tristan said scanning the forest. "Try lighting one of you up as hostile."

Tristan grabbed his normal scope and peered through it, sure enough Justin's blue outline changed to a filled red target, then back again.

"Were in business." Tristan laughed "Get moving, I haven't spotted anything yet."

"Roger that, KNGT move out." Kobalt ordered "Justin let me know if you sense any electrical signals."

"I'd need to be pretty close." Justin said "Tristan will find her before I do."

"Just in case man." Kobalt said

"Besides bro, don't you want all the glory for finding her?" Tristan laughed

"This is a team exercise, it doesn't matter who finds her." Justin said plainly

"One of these days I'm gonna get you to loosen up bro."

 _Now if only I could find Viridian I could start on that instead._ Tristan thought

But after twenty minutes Tristan hadn't found a single sign of Professor Viridian, no green ripples, no motion visible through the trees, nothing. He was starting to think the scope couldn't penetrate the treetops when Kobalt broke silence.

"Tristan we got something," he said "Dead Ursa, couldn't be more than a few minutes ago, we can still make it out."

"You think it was her?" Tristan asked

"Either that or there's someone else out here capable of breaking an Ursa in half." Nickole said

Tristan swung his sniper back to where his team was, their outlines visible through the trees with his scope. He cursed at himself for not thinking to check on his team sooner.

"Kobalt don't react to what I'm going to say." He said slowly into his com "Directly at your six, about twenty meters back, she's right there."

"You sure?" Kobalt whispered

"Either it's her, or something else out there is emitting radiation on the perfect wavelength for me to pick it up." Tristan told him, the green ripples Amber had told him about were right there, and their center wasn't moving.

"No motion?" Kobalt asked "None at all?"

"Nothing, now make a move before she realizes what's happening." Tristan almost yelled

"Nickole, care to give me a boost?" Kobalt asked

"Anything for you Blue." Nickole said

"Now." Kobalt ordered, Tristan watched through his scope as Kobalt's outline dashed towards the ripple. Followed closely by Nickole and Justin. The moment they started moving the ripple darted off away from them, it was definitely Viridian.

"I've got a visual!" Kobalt yelled "Marking her on our IFF now, Tristan!"

"Hold on," he said swapping scopes, visible through the trees was a glowing red silhouette of their teacher. "I've got her."

She was moving incredibly fast through the forest with Kobalt on her tail. Nickole and Justin were too far back to do much of anything.

"Keep her running straight." Tristan said leading his target, he was just over seven hundred meters away and not sure if he could make a shot on her moving so fast. He fired off one round and saw it disappear into the leaves exactly where she was.

"Anything?" he asked

"You must've hit tree Tristan." Kobalt said "She's still moving."

"I can't make a clear shot from here after all then." Tristan complained "I'd keep trying but it's not like I've got an unlimited supply of ammo."

"Great, any clearings nearby?" Nickole asked

"Nope."

"I've got an idea, Nickole I need another boost." Kobalt said "Forty-five degrees off the ground straight ahead."

"Ready." She said a second later

"Now!" Kobalt said launching himself into the air. Tristan saw him break through the trees for a second before landing back down in front of Viridian. Then he **felt** the shockwave Kobalt let loose not a second later. A blast of blue energy shook the forest and disintegrated the trees in a small radius around Kobalt, leaving a black scar on the Emerald Forest. Tristan looked through his scope and saw Professor Viridian standing inside it looking in shock at Kobalt. It was completely justified, Tristan had never heard of anyone doing something like that before.

"Are you nuts Kobalt?" he heard over their coms as Viridian yelled at Kobalt "How much of your Aura is left after an attack like that?"

"How much of yours is left I wonder." Kobalt mused as Nickole and Justin broke through the trees surrounding Viridian.

"You know I'm not going quietly." Viridian said

"Yeah I know, but I imagine you've been ordered to go easy on us." Kobalt chuckled "Wouldn't be fair for us to fight a fully trained Huntress."

"Better get over it fast then." Viridian said, settling into a defensive stance.

Together all of Tristan's teammates rushed her at once. Tristan was sure it would be more than enough to take her down, he could not have been more wrong. As soon as Justin's spear was in reach she grabbed it flung him around into Nickole. But she didn't let go of the spear, and neither did Justin who tried to use his strength to repay Viridian. But there was no way he could hold up against a pair of cybernetic arms, Viridian pulled in the spear and punched Justin in the chest, launching him into a nearby tree. Kobalt tried to get in close and land a hit with his sword, but Viridian blocked most of his attacks with her arms. It was clear even from here this wasn't going well, Tristan started firing off rounds in hopes of distracting her, but she ducked under every shot he fired while still fending off Kobalt. It was only a matter of time before one of them screwed up.

And it was Kobalt, he was clearly getting frustrated at the lack of headway he was making. And Nickole getting thrown out probably pissed him off. Whatever the cause his swordsmanship was getting sloppy, even Tristan could see that much. Viridian managed to catch his blade on a swing and rip it from his hands, she threw it into a nearby tree and went on the offensive. It was clear it was all Kobalt could do to avoid getting hit, a single punch had put Justin out after all.

"Kobalt!" Nickole shouted getting back up. "Hold on."

"Wait!" Kobalt shouted "I've got an idea, that rune of yours the impact one, put in on my hands!"

"You sure?" she asked him "I've never put it on something that small before."

"No time to argue." Kobalt said ducking under a punch. From the cliff Tristan could barely make out a slightly grey glow on Kobalt fists, he backed up and wound up his own punch, meeting Viridian's fist with his own. Shockingly, Kobalt stood his ground.

"You've got an ace up your sleeve huh?" Viridian asked

"If you think this is my ace you'll love what comes next." Kobalt chuckled, he grabbed her wrist and used it to pull her into a kick at her head. It disoriented her for a moment, but she was back in the fight before Kobalt could continue his assault. This time though, Kobalt blocked each attack, his Aura dropping substantially with each one. But now he was counterattacking, inflicting a degree of damage with each hit. Tristan still couldn't land a shot though, Viridian was moving too fast to give him a clear shot. And Kobalt was at his limit, it seemed he was back to just barely being able to dodge. When it seemed like he couldn't dodge the next punch, his hand shot out and grabbed Viridian's wrist. When she tried to hit him with her other hand he grabbed that one too, holding her still.

"Tristan fire now!" Kobalt shouted into the com.

"I don't have a clear shot." He said "You're in the way, all I can see is her head."

"She'll be fine." Kobalt argued

"But if her Aura's too low…" Tristan started

"For the love of Dust would you pulled the trigger!" Kobalt ordered, Viridian was trying to push Kobalt down, clearly not worried about her arms.

Tristan did his best to line up the shot, Kobalt was holding her still enough, but one inch to low and he might blow his friends head off. He squeezed the trigger and felt like time was moving in slow motion, he watched as the round flew through the air towards them. Viridian's eyes went wide and she bent over backwards to dodge it just as it would've hit her head. Now she was off balance, and Kobalt took the opportunity to take her out. He pulled her back towards him into a knee to the chest, he landed, spun and swept her legs out from under her. He came out of the spin before she fell and knocked her to the ground with his fist. He wrapped her arms in energy draining the rest of his Aura and collapsed.

"Kobalt, you okay?" Nickole asked running over to him

"If I never have to fight another cyborg again I'll be happy." He said sitting up "Nice shooting Tristan."

"You knew she'd dodge didn't you?" he asked

"It was her only choice, either take the shot in the head, or lower her guard and dodge." Kobalt said

"Or I could've used you as a shield, kinda wish I had." Viridian said standing back up. "I'll just let you two have your moment."

She turned around to run and was met with the tip of Justin's spear.

"That's as far as you go professor." Justin said "Unless you want to fight me without those arms of yours."

"Good work Justin," Kobalt said standing up "Tristan were moving to the staircase on the cliff edge, can you get there and cover us?"

"On it. Try to not so anything stupid on the way." Tristan told them already in motion, it wouldn't be too far for either of them to get there.

"Who are you to talk?" Nickole laughed "We'll be there in a few minutes."

Sure enough it wasn't more than five minutes before Tristan had the team in his sights from the top of the ruins. Justin had Professor Viridian moving ahead of him with his spear pointed at her. And Kobalt's Aura had recharged in the meantime but wasn't very high, if any Grimm were to attack it would be up to Tristan and Nickole to deal with them. But there hadn't been any Grimm this whole time in the forest. It was possible they were killed by Viridian when she was sent in. Naturally that was the moment Tristan saw movement in the trees at the edge of the ruins. He shifted his sights expecting to see Grimm, instead he saw four people he didn't recognize walk up to his team.

"Kobalt, I think we've got a problem." Tristan called out


	13. Chapter 13: The Hammer Falls

"Kobalt, I think we've got a problem." Tristan called into the com, and Kobalt hoped he was wrong. A group of four people were walking up to them wielding Huntsman class weapons.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Nickole whispered to him "What's the plan?"

"Working on that." Kobalt said as the group stopped a few feet in front of them. All of them were wearing dark spikey armor, and looked like stereotypical school bullies. The tension in the air was tangible as their hands went to their weapons. Kobalt immediately started analyzing them, a barbed sword, rifled greataxe, large mace, and a minigun with spikes on the barrel.

"Well if it isn't team SRIK (shrike)," Professor Viridian said "Shouldn't you be out somewhere pissing off Goodwitch?"

"You know them professor?" Kobalt asked

"A second year team of idiots." Viridian scoffed "They'd rather cause trouble for the school than learn."

"That's not true professor," one of them laughed "We've learned plenty of things from Beacon."

"Like more creative ways to cause trouble for the school?" Viridian asked him "You better take your team and leave Slate, I don't have the patience to deal with you right now."

"Funny I was about to say that to this little guy here." He laughed "See we're on our own mission right now, Midori wants us to make sure these kids don't get you up those stairs."

"Great a test with pop questions," Kobalt said sarcastically "My favorite. I'd rather not embarrass you in front of your team, so why don't you take a hike?"

"You got stones kid, I respect that. But you're outta your league." Slate laughed "I only count three of you and your Auras are bound to be low after capturing her."

He was right, Kobalt's Aura was still restoring itself, and Nickole and Justin were pretty low too. In a straight fight they might stand a chance, but three on four? And all they had to do was make sure Professor Viridian got away and they could leave. Kobalt had to think fast, he'd burned most of his energy clearing that space for Tristan, then fighting Viridian. And she was still relatively fine.

 _That's it!_ He realized

"Hey professor, I'll make you a deal." Kobalt said turning to Viridian, "You help us deal with them and I won't share the video of me beating you hand to hand with every student at Beacon."

"You wouldn't dare." She said for the first time sounding serious

"My helmet recorded the whole thing, of course if you'd rather not kick their asses with us that's fine. I'll deal with them myself." He shrugged "But you'll be the talk of the school for months."

"Kick the ass of a team I can't stand, or be humiliated in front of the whole school." Viridian mused "Not a hard choice, get rid of these bonds."

"Don't even think about it." Slate tried to say raising his axe

"You there, shut up. And deal," Kobalt smiled, restoring his Aura with the energy he used to make the bonds "Oh and if you run after they're taken care of, the video goes up on the web."

"You little punk, now I'm gonna tear you apart!" Slate snarled

"Tristan, if he talks again, put a round in him." Kobalt ordered "Now then, last chance. Walk away."

"Not happening." Slate said spinning the axe in his hand. No sooner had he said that when a round from Tristan's sniper exploded on his back, making him holler in pain.

"Who did that?!" Slate screamed as he turned around looking for the source. Kobalt took the opportunity to bash the hilt of his sword against the back of Slate's head with enough force to knock him out. The rest of SRIK looked at him like he was some kind of alien.

"What?" he asked them "I told him to shut up didn't I?"

"So, who's first?" Viridian asked walking up behind him cracking her robotic knuckles. The sound alone was disturbing, less like bone and more like metal grinding against glass. Rather than stand their ground, SRIK backed down in an instant, letting Kobalt, his team, and Viridian past them to the stairs.

"Works every time." Viridian laughed as they neared the top

"I thought you said they were a second year team Professor?" Nickole asked

"I did, but they hardly qualify as a team in the first place." She continued laughing "They barely made it through their first year."

"Well Slate did sleep through all my lectures." Midori said when they reached the top. Sitting off to the side of him was Tristan, his rifle now folded up and on his back.

"Then why'd you have them try to stop us?" Kobalt asked

"Because I knew I could convince them to," Midori shrugged "I told them I'd boost their grades if they stopped you. But I never expected you to get Alexis to help you, how did you do that?"

"Well I told her I'd…" Kobalt started

"Not another word Kobalt." Viridian cut him off "For your sake you better delete that video."

"About that, I was bluffing." Kobalt admitted, Tristan's jaw dropped, and Nickole looked like she was trying not to laugh. "I wasn't even sure I could take on one of them in a fight with my Aura so low."

"You bluffed your way through that whole thing?" Midori asked him

"What can I say, I like to improvise." Kobalt chuckled

"Told you you'd like this one." Viridian said walking back to Beacon.

"Wait, what about your report?" Midori asked her "I need to grade them remember?"

"I am **not** putting down what happened on paper." She told him angrily "Just give them an A and be done with it."

"Great, now you've got me wondering." Midori sighed "You four head on back to Beacon, and good work, I never expected you get her that riled up."

"Thanks, I think." Kobalt said

"Well it takes quite a bit to make her lash out at **me** like that." Midori told them "You must have really given her a run for her money. Now get going, I've got another exam in a few minutes."

"Yes sir. Come on guys lets head out." Kobalt motioned to his team

"So were gonna celebrate when we get back right?" Tristan asked him

"You know what, I actually like the sound of that." Kobalt said

"Really?" Nickole asked

"Well I think we've earned a night off, besides I know the perfect place to go." he winked at Nickole

"Well if it isn't my two favorite customers!" Junior shouted over the music as he walked up to the booth Kobalt and his team were sitting at. "You know you missed the grand opening."

"We've been busy." Kobalt shrugged "Good to see the place is so popular."

"You bet it is, happy you kept it from being burned down huh?" Junior laughed

"I don't know about these two but I am." Tristan joined in laughter, he was definitely liking the place already. In fact Kobalt was starting to worry his friend liked to party more than he had originally thought.

"Good to hear it Tristan." Kobalt chuckled, then he lowered his voice "Drinks still on the house?"

"Always." Junior nodded

"Then we'd better not let him find that out." Kobalt whispered pointing at Tristan.

"I'll let my bartender know." Junior said looking over at the entrance. It looked like someone he knew just walked in "You kids have a good night, I've got some work it seems."

"Gimme a shout if they give you trouble." Kobalt told him

"Yeah, we can't afford to lose our all access pass here." Nickole smiled

"Thanks a lot sweetheart." Junior said walking off.

"Come on Kobalt let's dance." Nickole said grabbing his arm and pulling him to the dance floor.

"Hey!" he said as he was pulled out of the booth "Amnesia remember? I don't think I know how to dance."

"Have you seen most of the people on the dance floor?" she asked him "I don't think they know how to dance either. Just follow my lead."

She pulled him over to the edge of the dance floor and started to dance. As embarrassed as he was about it, Kobalt figured it would look weirder if he stood there doing nothing. So he gave it his best shot and focused on not looking like a complete idiot. He focused on just moving to the music, letting his instincts do the work for him.

"There you go, you're getting the hang of it." Nickole smiled at him

"Really?" he asked surprised "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Well you're keeping up with the beat, that's what matters." she laughed

"Just following your lead."

"Well then try actually dancing **_with_** me." she added. Somehow Kobalt managed to keep up with her even though he had no idea what he was doing. He started to forget he had no clue what he was doing and just relaxed. Here he was, dancing with a beautiful girl he was lucky enough to be dating, he had no reason to be worried.

"You're having fun now aren't you?" Nickole asked leaning into him as she danced with him.

"I guess I'm not bad at this after all." Kobalt smiled

"Or you just have a good teacher." Nickole boasted

"Yeah maybe." He laughed, he would've stayed there and danced for hours, but just then he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned his head to see one of Junior's men behind him.

"Boss wants to talk to you." He said before walking off.

"I'll be right back." Kobalt sighed. It figured, just as he was starting to have fun too. Junior was over at the bar sitting on one of the stools, Kobalt walked over and planted himself down on the one next to him.

"You wanted to see me?" Kobalt asked him

"Yeah, one of my boys came back with more pictures for you." Junior said handing him a scroll "I figure while I got you here I met as well show you."

"Fine let's see em, one Atlas over here." Kobalt ordered as he swiped through the pictures.

"What eager to get back out there?" Junior asked him

"What can I say, it's fun dancing with my girlfriend." He said as his drink came up

"I thought you two weren't…" Junior started

"We are now." Kobalt cut him off "You don't seem too surprised."

"Well when you two first walked in here I had you pegged as a couple." Junior told him as he continued swiping through pictures. "Something about the way you both acted made it seem that way."

"Well that's great and all but we only started…." Kobalt nearly dropped the scroll, he **did** drop his drink and barely registered it shattering on the floor. He stared at the picture on the screen in front of him, this was it he could feel it. Just looking at the screen, it was almost like he was back there now, he could feel the pain in his shoulder and chest. And his head felt like it was on fire.

"Kobalt, you okay?" Nickole asked as she came over, she grabbed his shoulder and that was when he realized he was shaking. He brought himself back in to focus and tried to calm himself.

"Junior, get me the exact coordinates of this place." Kobalt said sliding the scroll back to him "Nickole, get the guys, were heading back to Beacon."

"What's wrong?" she asked him "What were you looking at?"

"It's time to go see Ozpin." Kobalt said "Junior, those coordinates, now."

"Yeah, right." He said writing them down on a piece of paper "So I take it this means…"

"You found it." Kobalt told him taking the paper and walking away. "Thanks."

Kobalt nearly barged into Beacon tower when they finally got back, to say he was anxious would've been an understatement. He finally had a physical lead he could follow, but there was no way he'd be able to get there quickly without help. He had to force himself to calm down before he punched the elevator button. He was here to ask for help, not piss of the one person who would be able to help him now. The elevator dinged open and Kobalt was surprised to see a familiar face inside of it.

"Qrow, what are you doing here?" Kobalt asked seeing the Huntsman step out of the elevator

"What, I can't visit my friends?" he slurred "What are you doing here, isn't it past your bedtime?"

"I need to see Ozpin." Kobalt told him "I've got a lead."

"That so, somethin finally came back to you huh?" Qrow asked

"Not exactly, I'll tell you later." Kobalt said shoving past him into the elevator "Right now I need to see Ozpin."

The rest of his team shuffled in with him and Kobalt hit the button for Ozpin's office. Before the doors could close, Qrow shoved his hand in and they opened back up.

"Look kid, I don't know what you're planning." Qrow started "But I get the feeling you need his help with something dangerous, and ol' Oz won't be easy to convince. Not by a bunch of teenagers at least, he might listen to me though."

"You'd do that?" Nickole asked him

"I guess I got soft spot for kids." Qrow shrugged "Of course of you suggest anything stupid you're not getting any help from me."

"I'll take what I can get." Kobalt said "Let's go."

When the elevator doors opened at the top floor, Ozpin didn't even look surprised to see them. Although nothing seemed to surprise Ozpin anyway, every time Kobalt had seen him he was calm.

"Kobalt, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Ozpin asked him as Kobalt walked into his office.

"I need your help." Kobalt told him "I'm know Qrow told you about my, situation."

"Yes, amnesia. Quite a complex problem, and I understand you've been working on it yourself." Ozpin spoke "Yet not once have you come to my office for help. So, what's changed?"

"I finally got something solid to go on." Kobalt said "An information broker just gave me the coordinates of the one place I remember being before I was here."

"And you were hoping I could help get you there, is that it?" Ozpin asked "So, where is it you were hoping to go?"

"Here." Kobalt said sliding him the note with the coordinates. Ozpin took it and started punching them into his computer, his eyes shone with interest when a result popped up.

"You information broker has good resources." Ozpin told him, "Do you know where this is?"

"Not a clue." He said "I just know I've been there."

Ozpin turned the monitor projection so Kobalt could see it clearly. The coordinates were in the southern part of the continent, almost directly south of Patch.

"The Ashen Tundra, possibly one of the most inhospitable places in all of Eastern Sanus." Ozpin told him "And your coordinates are right in the center of it."

"Are you trying to deter me or something professor?" Kobalt asked him

"No, I just want you to understand exactly what it is you're asking of me." he said "Qrow, I don't imagine you're here to be the voice of reason."

"Since when is that my job?" Qrow asked "Remember what I told you when I said to let him in here? Time for to see if I was right, send him out there."

"Yes perhaps it is time." Ozpin agreed

"Professor, not to sound rude or anything," Kobalt interrupted "but would you mind telling me what you're talking about?"

"Tell me something Kobalt," Ozpin started "What would you do if I declined you're request?"

"You really need to ask? I'm going there even if I have to go by myself." Kobalt told him

"No you're not." Qrow said "Even if Ozpin declines, I get the feeling your team will follow you. At the very least she will."

"Of course I would!" Nickole shouted at him "There's no way I'd let him go to the Ashen Tundra by himself."

"Not that it matters much anyway." Ozpin chimed in "I wouldn't be much of a Headmaster or a Huntsman if I allowed a student to go on a dangerous journey alone."

"So does that mean you will help me?" Kobalt asked shooting a look at the Huntsman behind him "And Qrow said you'd be hard to convince."

"Yes, well I do have one condition. You and your team will be accompanied by a Huntsman." Ozpin said "And there will be no arguing against it."

"Deal." Kobalt said instantly

"Well it looks like my job here is done." Qrow said walking towards the elevator

"Qrow, didn't you say you had an urgent mission to attend to when you left a few moments ago?" Ozpin asked "I do hope the bartender hasn't lost too much money."

"I'll just be leaving now." Qrow said as he entered the elevator

"Kage, I need to see you in my office immediately." Ozpin said, pressing a button on his computer.

"That's funny, I was on my way up already." Professor Midori said as the other elevator opened up.

"I have the grades and analysis from the exams this morning," he started, then he saw Kobalt and his team "KNGT, I didn't think I'd see you again today."

"I'll take a look at that later, you know you could just email them to me." Ozpin said

"Call me old school Ozpin, but you can't hack paper." Midori added "Now then, what brings you here KNGT? I can't imagine you're complaining about your grade."

"They are the reason I wanted you to come up here Kage." Ozpin told him "I have a mission for you."

"A mission, already, you sure that's a good idea?" Midori asked him "I just got back and my…"

"I saw you training last night, you're back in peak form." Ozpin added "You're aware of Kobalt's…condition correct?"

"Alexis filled me in, what kind of mission has to deal with amnesia?"

"Kobalt has acquired coordinates to the last location he remembers being." Ozpin told him "Its dead center of the Ashen Tundra. "

"And you want me to go with them." Midori figured

"You have more experience with the location than any other professor here." Ozpin said

"There's Glynda." Midori tried to argue

"Yeah, I don't think Professor Goodwitch likes me very much." Kobalt said

"And I don't think Glynda would approve of this mission as it stands." Ozpin said "This mission would be low priority to her, you on the other hand..."

"Say no more," Midori sighed "KNGT report to the central landing pad tomorrow at nine o'clock sharp."

"Thank you professor." Kobalt said as Midori walked into the elevator

"Don't thank me yet, you're plotting our air course and prepping the airship." Midori said "Most pilots have the day off tomorrow, if you're going to make them work, you're doing the heavy lifting. And I want you to brief me on everything I need to know on the way."

"Yes sir." Kobalt responded immediately.

"If that's all I'll be going Ozpin." Midori checked before pressing the elevator button.

"Yes that's all," Ozpin told him "Now then, Kobalt if you don't mind I'd like speak with you."

"Yeah sure, I'll meet you guys back at the dorm." Kobalt said sitting down across from Ozpin

"You know Kobalt, at first I didn't know why Qrow had taken such an interest in you. If you ask me he had no need to send you here, you're training would be better served working as a low level Huntsman." Ozpin said once everyone was gone "You seemed more than talented when I watched you in the Forest, and you have an unfortunate condition, but that's not enough for Qrow to justify everything he's done for you."

"I've been wondering the same thing from the start actually." Kobalt admitted "Qrow claimed it was because I was a great swordsman, and because it's his job as a Huntsman to help people."

"But you didn't think so?"

"No, I always thought he had some other reason for helping me, something more personal." Kobalt said

"Indeed, it could be that you remind him of himself when he was young," Ozpin said "strong, reckless, and care free. And he has a soft spot for children, you should see how he treats his nieces. Yet I'm sure he's seen plenty of students that need as much help as you do. So, why do you think he cares so much?"

"I have no idea professor." Kobalt said after a moment of silence

"When he first told me about you, there was an urgency in him that made me wonder just who you were." Ozpin told him "He said when you fought those men in Patch, there was a certain level of care you were clearly giving them. Qrow knew from the start you were holding back, and he felt none of that when swung at him."

"I reacted instinctively to a potential threat." Kobalt told him "I didn't know who Qrow was at the time."

"Yes, well regardless Qrow believes he got a good measure of your strength in that moment." Ozpin began "And would you like to know what he told me?"

"What?"

"He told me you were someone we would want on our side, against those who would threaten the safety of the kingdoms." Ozpin said "You've received high level training, and it wasn't from the Huntsmen Academies. There aren't any other places inside the kingdoms that could teach you what you know. So tell me, whose side do you think you were on before you came to us here?"

"Side?" Kobalt asked "That's one way to put it, you're worried I was with someone who would threaten the kingdoms aren't you?"

"You can understand my reasoning." Ozpin nodded

"Yeah whatever I've been through, it wasn't something a person like you would condone I can tell that much." Kobalt admitted "Every time I try to remember where I was before now, all my mind can recall are the emotions I felt. Anger, regret, betrayal, that doesn't exactly paint a pretty picture. Almost bad enough not to go looking."

"So what do you plan to do?" Ozpin asked "You're going through with searching for answers obviously."

"I want to find out what I was doing." Kobalt told him outright "I jumped out of an airship to get away from whatever it was. I have scars from fights I don't remember, skills from training I can't recall, why, what was the point behind it all? "

"I've seen plenty of students with scars much like yours. For many, a Grimm attack that wounded them is the reason for becoming a Huntsman." Ozpin argued "Perhaps the scar came first, and the skills after."

"You've only see the scar on my face professor," Kobalt said standing up. He took off his jacket and rolled up his shirt, showing his bare chest to Ozpin, who didn't hide the shock in his eyes. "I haven't seen anything like this on the professors, let alone the students. And I know some of them are more recent than others."

"We all carry scars Kobalt," Ozpin said as he put his jacket back on "Some aren't limited to our body, though something tells me I don't need to tell you that. Memory or not, you're a bright young man."

"No, these are just the beginning." Kobalt agreed "But there's something out there in the Tundra, something I was part of. And I need to find out what, for my sake at the very least. Neither you nor I know how far it goes, so I'm going to find out, for you as much as me."

"You sound like a Huntsman. So if you do, what then?" Ozpin asked "What if what you find is something you wished you left alone?"

"I move on, a good friend of mine told me whatever I did is in the past." Kobalt said "That no matter what happens, they've got my back. That's something I intend to hold on to."

"Sounds like a good friend." Ozpin smiled

"She's the best."


	14. Chapter 14: Ashen Tundra

With the exception of Tuesdays, Nickole could usually sleep through anything, but that night she didn't sleep. Not even for a minute. To say she was worried about Kobalt would've been an understatement. One minute they were having fun dancing, and the next thing she knew he was barging into Beacon Tower to talk to Ozpin. The look on his face was intense, like nothing she'd seen before. She'd seen terror and concern in his eyes before, and she'd seen him laugh in the face of huge Grimm. But she'd never seen him look as serious as he did when he saw that picture. When he came back to the dorm after talking with Ozpin he seemed to be in a better mood. But after a few hours of sleep he got up and left the room without making a noise, bringing his laptop with him. Meanwhile Nickole rolled in bed throughout the night, wanting nothing more than to try and cheer him up. But part of her knew there was nothing she could do, this was what he'd been waiting for since the day they set foot into Junior's club. He wanted answers, and she had promised to help him find them. It had barely been two months since they'd met, but it felt like much longer than that. In that short time Kobalt had gone from being her first real friend, to her team leader, to her first boyfriend. And as scared as she was by the thought of being in a relationship, being with him was surprisingly calming. Which was part of why she was so worried when he turned serious.

At about five in the morning Kobalt came back into the dorm and changed clothes, he was about to leave again when Nickole pretended to wake up before he could.

"Kobalt?" she whispered "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get the airship ready," Kobalt whispered back as he walked over to her and knelt next to her bed. "You should get some sleep."

"Me? What about you?" she asked him "Shouldn't you get a bit more rest yourself?"

"You really think I can sleep any more than I already have?" he smiled sadly

"You think **I** can sleep?" Nickole asked grabbing his hand, "I'm worried about you."

"I'll be okay," he said giving her a small kiss "Besides, I'll have you watching my back out there."

"How are you so clam right now?" she asked him "Shouldn't you be freaking out more than I am?"

"I was, remember." Kobalt said "After I saw that picture I nearly lost it. But as I was walking back from Ozpin's office, I remembered something."

"What?"

"That I promised you I would keep my carefree attitude." He said "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't keep such a simple promise to my girlfriend?"

"Kobalt you have amnesia, it's okay to be serious every once in a while." She told him

"Well I think I already got it all out of my system." Kobalt chuckled quietly "Get some sleep, you can't watch my back without some rest."

"Okay, don't do anything crazy while were asleep." Nickole told him

"Like what?" he asked her

"Take the airship and go off on your own."

"Oh please, I wouldn't do something that stupid." He said standing up "Besides, you're the reason I might finally get some answers, I'm probably going to need your help again before this is over."

"You've already got it." she promised as he started walking for the door. She laid her head back down on her pillow, not expecting to fall asleep. She woke up to her alarm going off three hours later.

Tristan and Justin woke up a few minutes later, and soon enough they were all on their way to the landing pad. It felt strange, walking to the landing pad where they first arrived at Beacon suited up like they were. Nickole had been to the landing pad plenty of times for trips into Vale or just to look out across the city. But wearing her armor, and walking with Tristan and Justin, also in armor, it felt different. The tension was palpable, they all knew this was going to be big. They weren't heading into Vale, they were heading out on a mission. A real mission, far away from Beacon and any safety nets they had. But when Nickole saw Kobalt double checking everything on the airship they were about to board, any nervousness she had was gone. This was for him, they were going on this mission to help Kobalt get his memory back. And there was no way she was going to let her boyfriend deal with this alone.

"Hey team, good to see you." Kobalt said as they walked up to the airship, something about him seemed off from earlier in the morning, he looked almost ashamed.

"Look, I know you guys kinda got caught up in the moment last night when I went to see Ozpin," Kobalt said "And I know Midori told all of KNGT to be here, but his isn't going to be an easy mission. I've done my reading on the Ashen Tundra, and I started remembering a bit too, it's not a place you want to go to if you don't have to. You guys are my friends, so if you don't want to come with me, I understand."

"Gonna take a lot more than that to scare me away." Nickole said giving Kobalt a peck on his cheek and boarding the airship.

"And how about the people I'm not dating?"

"Remember the 'Bookshelf incident'?" Tristan asked Kobalt

"Kinda hard to forget."

"Remember what I told you that night?" Tristan continued as he walked passed Kobalt and patted him on the shoulder "Gonna be tough to watch your six if I can't see you."

"Justin?" Kobalt asked

"If the place is that dangerous, there's no way in hell I'm going to let even one of my friends got there on his own." He said, shocking Nickole. She looked over to see Tristan smiling in his seat.

"Thanks man." Kobalt said, Justin just nodded as he boarded the airship.

"Now we're just waiting on Midori right?" Nickole asked as Kobalt sat down next to her.

"That's not entirely true." Midori said popping his head out from the other side of the airship. "I expected you to be late so I took a nap while I waited."

He stepped into the airship sporting a long tattered black cloak over his usual clothing. Nickole caught a glimpse of a sword hilt underneath it when he stepped in.

"Everything taken care of Kobalt?" Midori asked

"Yeah, pilot's waiting on your word to get going." Kobalt told him

"Then were off, close the doors." Midori said to the pilot before sitting down "Now then, what _exactly_ do you remember about your time in the Tundra?"

"Bits and pieces, it's still a bit blurry." Kobalt sighed "I remember I was surrounded by people, and they were far from friendly. They were armed with weapons, mostly bows, and a lot of them were wearing masks. Their outfits looked scavenged from old armor."

"The masks, were they white with no expression on the face?" Midori asked "Brown marks on the cheeks?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I've been to the Tundra before, the people you saw were part of a clan of bandits known as the Dust Cloaks. I've had to deal with them before, they ambush the few people crazy enough to travel through the Tundra. Anything else?"

"Not about the Tundra, but wherever I was before I came to Beacon, one of the people there called me Subject Kobalt." Kobalt told him

"Subject? I don't like the sound of that."

"I've been liking what your memories tell us less and less Kobalt." Nickole admitted "From the sounds of it you were almost killed out in the Tundra, and people don't call you subject if your friends with them."

"She's right, you should probably face facts here, whatever you were doing before Beacon can't have been good." Midori told Kobalt "The more you find out, the less you may want to know."

"I was talking with Ozpin about that, whatever's waiting out there, we need to know what. Me and Ozpin." Kobalt said "After the first memory I was scared of what I might find, but when I remembered how I broke out of a containment tube and jumped out of an airship to escape… Well let's just say I want to know why."

And in all honesty, Nickole wanted to know why just as much. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she almost wanted Kobalt to give up searching, she was worried that he might leave after he learned who he was. At the very least the person he was might be so different from who he is now he may not be the same after.

"How bout we change the topic to something less worrisome." Tristan suggested "What exactly is this Ashen Tundra? For those of us who haven't done our homework."

"The Ashen Tundra is an environment unlike most places in Remnant, it's literally coated in volcanic ash." Nickole said "There are rings of volcanoes constantly spewing ash into the air, which settles on the ground like snow."

"Looks like Kobalt isn't the only one who did his research." Midori spoke up "You're right on the money, the volcanoes in the region are constantly spewing soot and ash, which keeps most people away from the region."

"Why would people even want to go near the place if there are active volcanoes?" Tristan asked

"Well for one, it's much shorter to go through then around. Plus the ash there has large traces of Dust in it." Nickole told him "I'm surprised the Schnee Dust Company hasn't tried to collect any of it."

"I'm not, I've been there during an active season, it's not worth the risk." Midori said

"How bad are these 'seasons'?" Tristan asked

"They're mostly random, but every few months you don't want to be near the place, the volcanoes aren't even the main issue." Nickole said "When the Dust in the ash is agitated it lights the ash on fire with varying effects depending on the element."

"Take it from me, if you have to choose between lightning and wind fires out there, pick lightning." Midori added

"The lava can be pretty difficult to deal with as well, but the ash fires are more…" Nickole found herself cut off by her own yawn.

"Why don't you get some rest Nickole?" Tristan suggested "You barely slept last night."

"How would you know?" she asked

"You have circles under your eyes." Kobalt said "We've got a couple hours before we get there, get some sleep."

"You should too Kobalt, you slept less that she did." Justin added

"I'm fine." Kobalt tried to argue

"Kobalt, shut up and get some sleep." Nickole told him as she leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Wake me when we're ten minutes out." Kobalt sighed

Nickole was woken up later to the feeling of snow hitting her face, but it felt drier. She opened her eyes to see the airship doors open, ashes fell outside and she could see mountains in the distance. Kobalt was standing over Tristan's shoulder as he sat at the edge of the door with his sniper looking out over the wastes. Nickole shifted in her seat to get a better look outside, they were definitely in the Ashen Tundra now. Looking closely Nickole could see ash rising from what she had thought to be a mountain.

"Hey I was about to wake you," Kobalt said walking over to her "You sleep well?"

"I slept better when I had a pillow." Nickole smiled as she patted his furred shoulder. "How close are we?"

"We're about five minutes away from Kobalt's coordinates." Midori said "Almost in the center of the Tundra."

"Tristan you see anything out there?" Kobalt asked

"Still nothing, you sure these Dust Cloaks are still around? He asked

"They're experts at hiding out here, you won't find them that way." Midori told him "They've probably spotted us though, we should be ready for anything."

"What did you have in mind?" Kobalt asked

"If it were me I'd say a defensive formation, protect Kobalt." Justin spoke up from his chair, Nickole had to remind herself that Justin was just as good a tactician as Kobalt. He was just too quiet.

"Exactly, the objective here is to help Kobalt regain some of his memories." Midori said "And you told me it's not a fun experience right?"

"Far from it." Kobalt said

"So were going to have you at the center of our formation completely covered. The last thing we need is for you to get hit because something came back to you."

"I'll be up ahead scouting," Tristan said "making sure there is nothing in our way like usual."

"Bad idea, the ash is bound to mess with your cloaking, it'll stick to you like glue." Kobalt said "You'd be best in the back of the group keeping an eye on our six."

"He's right, Mr. Titian and I will take point, keep the lightning down as much as possible. Ms. Gareth you'll be covering Kobalt in case…" Midori started but couldn't seem to find the words.

"In case something comes back and I break down?" Kobalt suggested

"I wasn't going to put it that way but yes."

"We're at the drop zone, touching down now!" The pilot called out from the cockpit.

Nickole readied Damocles in rifle form, half expecting to be attacked the second she hopped off the airship. She looked over at Kobalt, who was standing in the doorway, one hand on the edge of the ship, the other clenched in a fist. Nickole could _feel_ the tension radiate off of him.

"Hey, you ready for this?" she asked walking up next to him.

"Ready?" he chuckled "I don't think I can be ready for something like this."

"You going to be okay?" she asked

"I've got you with me don't I?" he asked slipping his hand in hers "I'll be fine, just nervous."

The ship touched down and Professor Midori and Justin were off in an instant, moving up to make sure the area was clear. The rest of them followed closely behind, for her part Nickole started scanning the hills that rose around them. One thing she noticed, this wasn't the place in the picture. She had gotten a quick look at it at Junior's and committed it to memory, but the place they landed was the same as the picture.

"I don't get it," Nickole said aloud "This isn't the same place, did Junior give us the wrong location?"

She looked towards Kobalt, sure he was noticing the same thing. He hadn't yet donned his helmet, and his face was dark and as serious as it had been when he saw the picture.

"Kobalt?" she asked him, starting to worry

"We're not far, half a kilometer away." Kobalt said putting on his helmet "Let's get moving."

He walked on ahead without another word, Midori and Justin moving ahead of him, Tristan walked up next to her as she watched them leave.

"Give him some time, it can't be easy for him to be here right now." Tristan told her "I saw his reaction to seeing this place in a dream up close, it's probably worse in person."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Nickole admitted as she ran to catch up with Kobalt, at the very least she was determined to keep him safe. They'd been walking for a short while when Justin nearly tripped over something.

"Catch a rock?" Midori asked steadying him

"That was too soft to be a rock." Justin said bending over. He swept the ash off the small rise in the ground. Nickole could barely make it out from where she was, but she saw him grab onto something, then pull a person out of the ashes. She raised Damocles and ran over with Kobalt.

"He's dead," Midori announced as the got close "Has been for a long time now, the ash must've preserved him."

"Dust Cloak?" Nickole asked, Justin nodded.

"He's got one of those masks on, but it's cracked down the middle." Justin said "What killed him?"

"Looks like some kind of projectile." Midori said examining the corpse, "Or an energy based attack, look at how it burned through his chest."

"But there's two sharp points at the top and bottom." Nickole noticed

"I get the feeling we'll be getting our answers soon enough." Midori said as Kobalt walked passed them all. "It's just ahead isn't it?"

"Yeah." Kobalt muttered as he kept moving, almost like he was in a trance. Nickole kept pace a little ways behind him until he stopped moving. When she looked passed him she realized they were there. It was exactly like she had glimpsed in the picture, it almost looked like a large crater with openings at the top and the bottom.

"This is where it happened." Kobalt whispered, barely loud enough for Nickole to hear. Kobalt took off his helmet and dropped it on the ground, his face was deathly pale and he was sweating. Before she could say anything to him he dropped to his knees and she rushed over to him. It was just like when he had the memory come back the first night. Before she knew what else was happening Kobalt fell forward onto his hands and a circle of black flame surrounded the two of them.

"I am the shadow that covers the world." Kobalt whispered, his voice echoing as if there were two of him. "I am the flame that burns in the night."

For just a moment the flames burned higher and higher until they eventually died off and Kobalt was left there gasping.


	15. Chapter 15: Black Knight

Kobalt stood alone in the center of the crater, lining the slopes were a dozen or so people in masks with bows in their hands. At the mouth of the crater in front of him were more, wielding a variety of weapons. And his motion sensor showed a few behind him as well. His Aura was gone and he knew perfectly well what would happen if they attacked him, but he was determined not to let that happen.

"Stay back." He warned, drawing his sword and assuming a defensive stance. His words fell on deaf ears as the archers on the slopes drew the bows and fired together. A good portion missed Kobalt by miles, but plenty found their mark hitting him in the chest and a few in his arm. The pain in his arm was hardly a thing at all, and the ones in his chest didn't make it past his armor. Still the impact of so many arrows left him reeling for a moment. It was just long enough for him to completely miss the man who threw a spear in his direction. By the time Kobalt noticed the spear, it had buried itself in his shoulder passing through a chink in his armor. He stumbled backwards from the impact and dropped to a knee from the pain.

"Stay away!" Kobalt warned again, he knew what was coming, what would happen if he was pushed into a corner. His radar showed the ones behind him getting closer, and he could see the ones in front start making their way towards him as well. When he heard the knife drawn behind him, it felt like his mind had been twisted and burned. He spun as he stood and parried the knife as it came down upon him. Kobalt knocked it out of the hands of the man who held it and drove his blade clean through the man's chest. Behind the white mask Kobalt could see the shock and pain in the man's eyes, yet he felt nothing. His emotions were gone, and he was as cold to this as the land he was in.

"Get back!" he yelled as he poured a wave of energy through his sword, blasting the man through the air. His Aura was regenerated as he sidestepped a thrust that came in behind him and sliced out the attacker's knees, bringing him down. He blocked another attack on his left and used his free hand to break the spear in his shoulder. He drove the spear into the man at his feet and ran his sword up through the new attacker.

"Who's next?" he asked as he pulled his blade out of the dead man. He could feel the hate vibrate throughout each word. The archers responded by drawing their bows, Kobalt put a barrier around himself as the arrows came in this time. As they did he began channeling energy through his entire body. Once the arrows had subsided he unleashed a shockwave of black fire pushing the nearby men back and igniting the Dust in the ash. Fires of all different colors burned around him, another blast of his cleared the path forwards of ash and Dust leaving only stone. His HUD showed he only had another kilometer to go, and as much as he would have loved to make them come get him, Kobalt knew he last long out here with these wounds.

 _Training,_ he scoffed in his head as he calmed down, _the Chairman's an asshole. He knew this would happen, he knows how to trigger it. What's he getting at?_

When Kobalt came to he was on his hands and knees in the center of the crater. Sweat poured off his face onto the ground, one hand went to his shoulder, the pain in it felt like the spear had been thrust through it again. He could vaguely make out Nickole calling his name as the roaring in his ears died out. He reached up and grabbed her shoulder for support, and to know she was right there with him. He leaned back up onto his knees and tried to speak, but no words came out of his mouth. He managed to pull himself to his feet, and felt Nickole grab his hand, she looked worried beyond words.

"You okay?" she asked him as he tried to steady his breathing "You blacked out on us and you're sweating like crazy."

Kobalt didn't even know how to respond, but he knew he was far from okay. His mind was going crazy, images blurring together, moments he couldn't fully remember popping into his head. But all of them overshadowed by the one he had just seen, he still remembered to look of the blood on his blade.

"I killed them," he said, finally finding his voice "I killed them, all of them."

"What?" Kobalt heard Midori ask somewhere behind him

"I killed them all, the one we saw back there, and a dozen more." Kobalt said, "They were about to kill me, and I just…snapped. I wiped them out without even thinking about batting an eye."

"You were defending yourself then." Midori said walking up in front of him.

"You don't get it, I could've held back!" Kobalt yelled "I could have knocked them out or scared them off. But I killed them, I burned them alive!"

"No you don't get it, I've been a Huntsman as long as you've been alive." Midori said becoming deadly serious "And in that time I've learned sometimes there is no easy way out, sometimes you have do whatever it takes to survive and protect others."

"Stand in my place, knowing you could've held back and won." Kobalt spat, the anger boiling up in him "Then tell me that again."

Midori leaned in so close that Kobalt could feel his eye piercing him.

"Sometimes there is no easy way out, even if you think there might have been. Got it?" even though Kobalt could only see part of his face, it was enough to reveal just how serious Midori was. "So you remembered doing some terrible things, move past it or it will bury you. Better men than you have done worse, and you still have lots to deal with from the sounds of it."

"He's right Kobalt," Nickole said next to him "We still don't know what you were doing out here."

"But I think I know where I was coming from." Kobalt breathed as he started to calm down. "I was heading for…something I'm not sure what, but there's some…thing, place I don't know, further ahead."

"How far?" Midori asked him

"Not far, another kilometer straight ahead." Kobalt told him "I don't know what we'll find, we should be ready for anything."

"That what I said before we landed." Midori sighed before moving on ahead. "Let's go."

"Kobalt," Nickole whispered grabbing his shoulder. He turned to see she still looked fairly scared by what had happened "That's still you in there right?"

"Who else would it be?" he asked confused

"It's just, when you were on the ground it was like…" she stopped and hesitated for a moment "Never mind, I'm probably just worrying too much."

"You sure?" Kobalt asked her "You looked like you've seen a ghost, and that's my thing."

"Yeah it's fine, I must be imagining things." She said "Come on we've got more important things to worry about."

"Hey Kobalt!" Tristan shouted form the slope "I think I know what we're looking for!"

Kobalt leapt up to the slope where Tristan was and looked over to where he was pointing. At what Kobalt would've have bet was exactly a kilometer away was what looked like some kind of huge bunker. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that was where he was heading.

Standing in front of the large metal door Kobalt felt like he was in a dream. He knew he had been here before, visions of standing in front of the door flashed in his head as he got closer. The bunker was built into the face of a huge cliff, Kobalt half expected to see turrets lining the sides of it when he got close. He felt as though something was missing though the whole area felt, empty. Ash had settled on the door, whereas in what little memory was coming back the door was clean of anything.

"So how do we get in?" Tristan asked "I don't see a doorknob anywhere."

Acting almost on instinct Kobalt walked up to the center of the door and reached for a piece of metal on the side. It looked like nothing more than a decorative piece, but Kobalt slid it down the side and the heard a clink beyond it. Slowly the door started opening up, shaking off ash and dust as it did. Inside the bunker was dark and the air felt stale, rust had gathered on some of the walls. Kobalt walked in and immediately the room shifted, lights came on, and the room seemed like it was in better shape. His team was gone, and in their place were two guards who flanked him the second he walked in, one grabbed a bandage and started dressing Kobalt's wound. His head was spinning, and he braced himself on the wall to keep from falling over. The next second it was as if everything was back to before, Nickole was shaking his shoulder, the walls still had rust on them, and the lights were still out.

"Kobalt you still with us?" Nickole asked him

"Yeah, things are starting to come back pretty quickly." He told her "I was here, and as soon as I came in I was met and escorted by a pair of guards."

"I don't see any guards around here." Justin said "But there is power, not much but maybe enough to get this place running if we find the source."

"The armory, generator room is behind the armory." Kobalt said instinctively

"Okay that's a little creepy," Tristan said "Do you know where the armory is?"

"Yeah, follow me." Kobalt said taking the lead, memories of being guided down these halls flooded his mind. Time spent walking through them to get around the base, memorizing them so he didn't get lost.

"How do you know you're way around so well?" Tristan asked "What is this place anyway?"

"I memorized layout of this base, its slowly coming back. Some of it isn't quite clear, but it's getting there." Kobalt told him reaching for the door panel to the armory "As far was what this place is… I'm still kinda murky on that one."

Kobalt thumbed the button on the wall that would've opened the door, but without power nothing happened.

"Damn, the generator room is on the other side of the armory." Kobalt said raising his hand to blast the door open "Stand back."

"I've got a better idea," Tristan said grabbing Kobalt's arm and lowering it. "Justin think you can hotwire the door?"

"On it." Justin said moving to the door panel, he put his hand on it and within a second the button lit up. Kobalt pressed it and the doors slid open, Kobalt half expected the armory to be either filled with guards or empty, instead it was somewhere in between. The whole room was a mess, guns and ammo littered the floor, most of the shelfs were empty, and there were a few arm bones laying on the floor.

"Professor you're being awfully quiet," Kobalt realized as he moved through the room, "Got something on your mind?"

"This place is military grade, as good as most Atlas facilities." Midori said "But it's old, much older. And no one has been here in years. Which begs the question…"

"How long ago was I here, and why?" Kobalt finished for him "I don't know, I remember bits and pieces, training I think. But to what end, I can't really say."

"And what's the deal with this armory?" Nickole asked

"I don't know," Kobalt said as he gravitated towards the rear of the room, "But something happened here."

He stopped in front of an isolated weapon case. Resting in was a single pistol, a suppressor, and four magazines of ammo. Looking at it, Kobalt's hip started to feel light, as if he'd been missing weight for a long time now. He broke the case and pulled out the pistol, the grip felt perfectly fit to his left hand even with his gauntlet on. He loaded a magazine and pulled the slide back, switched the safety on and moved to holster the pistol, forgetting for a moment that he didn't have a holster. But when he let go of the gun, it stuck to the armor at his hip. Kobalt pocketed the extra mags and the suppressor before he even realized what he had done. He turned around to see everyone looking at him strangely.

"Did you really just pick up a gun from here?" Nickole asked "You don't even know what this place is yet."

"Forget that, did you see how it stuck to his hip?" Tristan asked "That's a magnetic holster, those don't just float around they're custom made per person."

"He's right," Midori chimed in "Kobalt, what do you know about that pistol?"

"I spent a lot of time here, when the base fell the pistol was left here." Kobalt answered instinctively "They never bothered to make me a new one."

The moment he finished talking his mind exploded with images of him reaching for and loading the pistol now on his hip. Each time something was different, brighter lights or different people around him, all different enough for individual memories. He reached a hand up to his head as the images died down and the headache he barely registered disappeared.

"Don't ask me how I know that." He added "It's a weird feeling having you memories come back like that."

"And once again we have more questions than answers." Nickole sighed "Well it can't hurt for you to have more firepower. Generator room?"

"Right through here." Kobalt said standing at the door in the back of the room. "Justin?"

Justin nodded and placed his hand on the door panel, it lit up and Kobalt opened the door. The room was dark, but Kobalt could make out the shape of the many power generators that occupied the space. Kobalt felt the air still had a charge as he entered the room and walked over to the main breaker. He hesitated as he reached for the switch, something about all of this wasn't right, part of him wanted to stop and walk away. Something in the back of his mind was screaming to him that this was a bad idea. But more of him wanted answers, and he flipped the switch. Lights started booming to life and Kobalt could hear the sound of computer systems turning on for the first time in a long while. He walked out and into the armory as it flooded with light revealing more of the room than before.

"What the actual hell happened here?" Tristan asked as he followed Kobalt in. Kobalt was wondering the exact same thing, when he was here the armory definitely hadn't been burned so badly. It was hard to see the scorch marks with the lights off, but with them on it was clear something had burned through most of the room. On top of that, Kobalt was able to make out small piles of ash that had been scattered throughout the armory. Most of the base had been metal, there was little that could be turned into ashes.

"We need to find out what went down here," Midori spoke up upon entering the room "Kobalt is there a central control room or something like that here?"

Upon mention of a control room, Kobalt's mind flashed to him being in a large open room. Up above him was a large glass window with dozens of monitors and people walking back and forth between them.

"Yeah, I don't know exactly how to get there, but I know where to start." Kobalt said peeking his head out the doorway. "I need to get to the infirmary, from there I think I'll know where to go."

"What makes you say that?" Tristan asked

"When I came here, the first thing they would've done is attend to my wounds." Kobalt told him "After that they would've taken me to the barracks over by the…"

His mind stopped, the what? What was this place, what was he doing here? He didn't even know why he had been here in the first place, yet somehow he knew his way around like the back of his hand.

"The control room should have an archive of data on everything that's happened here." Midori told him "Including who you are."

"Right, follow me." Kobalt said taking point down the hallway. He raised his pistol and clicked off the safety, instincts telling him to be ready for anything.

He found his way to the infirmary fast enough. The place was just as big a mess as the armory, but when Kobalt got close all he could think of was the nurse that patched him up. He remembered the soft way she looked at him, thinking she was probably the one person here nice to him. And he remembered the sad look on her face when a soldier walked into the room to take him somewhere else.

Kobalt shook his head he needed to focus right now, these memories weren't helping him. They had no answers and were no use to him at the moment, he could worry about people he didn't know later. They were getting closer to the room, it was a bit further down the next hallway. Another set of doors stood between them and the central room, a large pair of magnetically locked doors. And Kobalt lacked the key card he would've needed to open the doors. He had no idea how they were going to get through.

"Don't have the access card?" Midori asked

"Nope, and these are mag locks, they won't just budge open." Kobalt said

"So why don't we just cut around the magnets." Midori suggested

"These doors are half a foot thick and solid steel, good luck with that." Kobalt sighed, already trying to remember if there was an override somewhere.

"Give me two minutes." Midori said kneeling down on the far end of the door. Kobalt watched as Midori's hand began to glow with green energy and crackle with green sparks. A thin solid beam of energy extended out from his palm and began to slice through the door. Kobalt couldn't believe it, in the back of his mind he knew these doors were almost impossible to break open.

"Focused energy, large volume, in a thin beam." Midori said as if knowing what Kobalt was thinking. "You can manipulate Aura Energy can't you? Give it a try I'm sensing two sets of magnets on this door."

"Sensing?" Kobalt asked

"Long story, get to work." Midori dodged the question. Kobalt focused a large portion of his aura into a small beam and managed to pierce the through the door with it. He cut straight up with Midori, eventually cutting the door off from its locks. He pushed on it and the whole door fell forward, revealing the large room Kobalt had vaguely remembered. An expansive room, with very little occupying its space, save for one thing. In the back of the room Kobalt saw it, a special containment pod connected to several tubes at the top. The tubes ran over to the edges of the room, and disappeared into the walls.

His mind flashed and in an instant he was in the pod as it started to fill with a dark liquid. Multiple restraints kept him locked in place as the water rose higher, eventually it passed over his chest and the oxygen mask he had on. A technician off to the side started flipping switches and the tube crackled with electricity, that pain alone was bad enough, but then Kobalt heard a pumping noise and looked over to his left. That was when he remembered the tube connected to his arm and saw something flowing through it. That pain spread rapidly throughout his body and he convulsed as it only increased as time went on. He wasn't sure how long he was in there, but the sound of someone talking brought him out of his haze.

"This is nuts," the technician said "He can't take much more I'm stopping the infusion."

"No," a voice rang out from the control room. Kobalt looked up to see a man speak into a microphone "He's a strong boy, he can take it. Can't you Kobalt?"

 _It'll be my turn one of these days asshole_. Kobalt thought as he nodded. Then the last thing he thought possible would happen, the pain got worse. Bringing him out of the memory and making him drop to his knees as the memory of the pain brought it surging back strong as ever. And with the pain, a name.

"Black Knight." He gasped as the pain subsided

"What?" Midori asked him

"Well bravo!" A voice boomed out of nowhere. "You finally remembered."

Above the pod a large screen lit up, and on was a man in a wearing a dark black military suit. He had dark black hair and blood red eyes. Kobalt knew it to be the same man who spoke to him in the pod. He sat lazily in a small chair and was swirling a drink in his hand.

"I must say the past few months have been quite amusing." He spoke in a condescending tone "Watching you struggle your way through a normal life, the whole time waiting to see if anything would come back to you. I have not been so entertained for years."

"Entertained, just who the hell are you to call our friend your entertainment?!" Tristan yelled at the screen.

"Chairman Dusk." Kobalt spat as he stood back up, rage was slowly building up inside of him "I'd say it's good to see you again, but we both know I'm a terrible liar."

"That you are, though I do miss our little talks." He laughed "And that fiery temper of yours, I don't suppose you'd come back willingly?"

"You're not taking Kobalt back!" Nickole yelled "I don't know what you did to him, but I will not let you have him again."

"Ah Miss Gareth, how is your brother these days?" Dusk asked

"What?" Nickole asked, sounding like a little kid at the mention of Auburn.

"I must say he was lucky you came along when you did. My operative couldn't stand the thought of killing your brother in front of a little girl."

"You? You're the ones who attacked my brother?!" Nickole roared, Kobalt had never seen her so angry before.

"Oh yes, he was getting too close to uncovering our organization." Dusk said "He almost found out about young Kobalt here. It really is a shame, I was tempted to try and convince him to join us, but one look into his time at Beacon…"

Dusk was cut off by a huge roar on the other side of the eastern most door. The roar was followed by a large pounding that echoed through the facility and sent shivers up Kobalt's spine.

"Ah it seems you've woken our friend." Dusk smirked "It took our entire division here to contain that one, and after they had it locked away they shut the power off, hoping no one would make it far enough inside to wake it. I decided to send Kobalt in to kill it after he did a few more years of training, but you just had to go and leave us on the way here."

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Tristan said as the door started to shake.

"I'll leave you to our guest, in the meantime I suppose I should start wiping the data here." Dusk sighed "I was hoping I could get this base operational again, but it seems too little too late for that now."

Kobalt readied himself as the door busted open, stepping out from the shadows was what Kobalt would truly call a monster. The size of it was terrifying, it walked on all fours and was made of pure muscle. Definitely Grimm, the creature had black fur with white bone plate on the top of its head and in the form of spiked spines on its back. But the markings on its face were a dark blue rather than red, and its eyes glowed the same color. When it roared Kobalt saw a bright light form in the back of its mouth and his eyes widened.

"Move!" he shouted to his team as he threw up a shield over himself and Nickole. Before he could say anything else flames erupted from the creature's mouth and swept over him. While the flames raged around him, Kobalt saw that Tristan had managed to roll behind some cover, and Justin had impaled his spear in the ceiling far above the fire and used it to stay safe. But Professor Midori had been too close to the creature, and he hadn't moved in time. Kobalt looked up to see the professor standing in the center of a blue inferno, yet he seemed almost unfazed by the fire. When the flames subsided, Midori ripped off his cloak and turned to Kobalt.

"You all okay?" he shouted as he leapt into the air and landed next to Kobalt.

"Professor how…?" Kobalt stopped, getting a good look at Midori now that he was close. The fire had burned away most of his clothing, his pants, shirt, and cloak were all in tatters. Without them Kobalt could easily make out the cybernetics that made up most of his body. He'd had suspicions due to his relationship with Viridian, but Kobalt never imagined Midori was so heavily altered. Both his legs, half of his chest, and his right arm were fully robotic. Kobalt could see where the cybernetics met skin, and realized that Midori had been serious when he said he'd been a Huntsman for as long as Kobalt was alive.

"And here I was thinking this would be a simple escort mission," Midori said reaching up to the bandages on his face. "I guess the cats out of the bag now though."

"Professor what happened to you?" Nickole asked him

"We all have our scars," Midori said looking at Kobalt "don't we?"

Midori ripped off the bandages covering the right side of his face and his mouth. The whole right half of his face and his jaw were also cybernetic, where his right eye should have been was a mechanical eye the glowed a disturbing green.

"Listen, we have to focus on what's important, that man said he was going to wipe all the data here right?" Midori checked "I'll take care of this thing, you go download whatever you can."

"Tristan, Justin! Cover Professor Midori!" Kobalt ordered "Nickole, hold on tight."

Before she could ask what he meant he pulled her close and blasted them up and through the observation window high up on the wall. He rushed over to the nearest computer and began typing furiously, searching for the right set of data.

"Kobalt what is happening?" Nickole asked "Who was that man, do you know what he was talking about with my brother?"

"No time right now, find a computer and start searching for the data files." Kobalt rushed as he continued his search

"Right, I'll see what I can find." She said "I imagine they have a whole hard drive on you in here somewhere."

"Don't bother, find any information you can on their other bases." Kobalt ordered as he heard the creature outside roar in anger.

"What?! We've come all this way for answers!" Nickole shouted "Don't you want to know who you are?"

"Not anymore, I remember enough now!" Kobalt yelled over the sounds of a battle below "I remember plenty of my past already!"

As if on cue, Kobalt's mind went haywire, memories were flooding in to the point where he couldn't even remotely control them. He flashed back to a point he time he couldn't place, lifting a sword against an opponent twice his size only to have it knocked away. His opponent's sword came down on Kobalt's arm slicing it just below the shoulder and drawing a large amount of blood before leaving it all but limp. The sword came in from the side again, but this time Kobalt flipped over in the air, using his good hand to push the sword down and he kicked his opponent square in the jaw. He landed down in front of him and jumped back up with an uppercut right to the same place. Kobalt heard the sounds of bones breaking, and couldn't help but wonder if they were the man's jaw or his own hand. Before he could get and answer he kicked the man clean across the room into a wall, picked up his sword and threw it with enough force to impale it in the wall next to him. As he raised a hand to stop the bleeding on his arm he heard the sound of clapping above him. He looked up to see the Chairman clapping slowly with a smirk on his face. And Kobalt couldn't help but laugh a little himself.

The scene changed again and this time he was in an actual tundra, snow settled on the fur on his shoulder and in the linings of his armor. Surrounding him were dozens of Grimm, Beowolves mostly but circling around the pack was something else. Something Kobalt didn't recognize in the least bit. But it wasn't showing itself for long and the snow from the blizzard wasn't helping. Before he could get a good look at it a wolf charged up and shifted his focus. He cleaved it in two and moved on to the next one as the pack kept attacking him. Little by little his Aura dipped down until it was all but gone. Most of the Beowolves were dead, but he was in bad shape and a ways away from the base. As he sliced apart the last wolf a screech pierced his ears and he turned in time to see a shadow dash past him. His blood dripped on the ground and his face was searing in pain. He raised a hand up and felt the gash that had been cut into his helmet, when he drew it back his hand had droplets of blood on it. The beast screeched again, and this time Kobalt felt its claw rake his back and light it aflame with pain. Before anything else could happen Kobalt anchored himself and forced the memories to subside.

"Kobalt?" Nickole shouted as he seethed in anger and pain. He tore off his helmet and threw it to the ground. Beneath him he heard the roar of the monster that was attacking two of his closest friends, and his rage started to boil over.

"Kobalt are you okay?" Nickole asked him

"Just get the data." Kobalt snapped before he leapt from the observation room. He landed down in front Tristan as he lining up a shot. Midori stood in front of the creature and was about to make some kind of attack when it tried to slam it's foot down on top of him. Kobalt dashed forward and put himself between the beast and Midori, as the fist came down on top of him Kobalt raised his arms and blocked the attack like it was nothing. He pushed back and staggered the monster, Kobalt raised one hand and poured all his energy into a single massive wave. A surge of black energy streaked towards the beast and it shrieked in pain. Drained of energy, Kobalt lowered his hand and tried to catch his breath. He never saw the swipe coming, the monster threw him across the room and into a wall, crashing through the metal that it was made of. Pain seared through his side and Kobalt passed out.


	16. Chapter 16: Green Shadow

This mission was not going at all how Kage thought it would. Already things had taken one hell of a left turn, something set Kobalt off and he tried to obliterate the monster in one shot. Kage had to admit, he had been in awe when Kobalt appeared in front of him and blasted the monster with an immense wave of energy. But something was wrong, Kage had seen Kobalt fight before, and his energy was always blue. So why had that last blast been black? He didn't have time to ask as the Grimm before him still wasn't dead, it swept Kobalt across the room and into the wall crashing through metal. Kobalt was lying on the ground not moving, his side dripping blood. He was far from in good shape.

"Tristan get over there and help him!" Kage shouted to Kobalt's teammates as he checked his joints. They were finally cleared of all the ash that had built up on the way here. "Justin, distract that thing for a bit, I haven't charged up fully today."

"How long do you need?" Justin asked already charging in.

"Just keep it off me for a few more seconds!" Kage shouted assuming a wide stance and forcing plasma energy through his cybernetics. He felt the increase in raw power as it flowed through his limb's actuators, power only he could produce. As Justin started losing ground to the monster, Kage felt himself reach his max and green lightning arced across his arm and legs. He shot forward with a burst of speed greater than most people were capable of without a speed type semblance. He drew his short curved blade from his hip as he neared the creature and leapt into the air. His mind went into overdrive, enhanced by cybernetics and adrenaline, causing his perception of time increase rapidly.

 _Weakness,_ he thought while his eyes scanned over every inch of the monster in front of him. _It's too thick to kill with one strike, and its head is too armored to pierce, but its eyes are wide open._

Kage redirected his descent and landed directly on top of the creature's head. He drove his blade into one eye, and his right hand into the other. It roared in pain as he jumped off and landed back down on the ground.

"Nickole where are we with the data?" Kage asked feeling he had a chance to worry about something else now. When she didn't respond he looked up to see her looking down at Kobalt, both hands covering her mouth and her eyes wide with shock.

"Nickole!" he shouted getting her attention "Don't forget how important that data is to Kobalt."

"R-right," she stammered as she raced back to a console. Kage shifted his focus back onto the monster now stumbling in front of him. Looking closely he could see that Kobalt had done some serious damage with his attack, but the attack was too wide and dispersed too much energy needlessly. He had melted a good portion of the plate covering its head, and almost all of the spines that rose on its back were gone. In its pain the monster thrashed its head around likely hoping to hit whatever had hurt it. If this things anatomy was anything like other Grimm, severing the tendons would give him a clear kill shot. He raced up and with a burst of speed using a piece of rubble as a springboard to launch himself to the side of the creature's head. He charged his blade with plasma causing it to glow green and slashed out as he flew by and cut his blade as deep as he could into the beast's neck. He landed back down and looked up to see the monster trying and failing to move its head, a perfect cut.

 _Time to end this_ , he thought sheathing his blade.

Kage lowered himself to the ground and took a sprinters position. He rapidly built up energy in his legs until they were glowing bright green with energy. He took off bolting for the wall with insane speed, and used his momentum to run up the wall in a heartbeat. When he neared the top he kicked off propelling himself towards the monster's head. He flipped around in the air and pointed his legs directly at the center of the head. As he sped towards the monster he began shaping the energy in his legs into a fine point right at the tips. When he made contact, he blew a hole clean though the monster's head like a human bullet.

"Tristan how's Kobalt?" Kage asked, not wasting any time as he walked over to his students. Once he got a good look he realized he didn't need to ask. Tristan had a hand covering a gash in the side of Kobalt's chest, and was wrapping a bandage around him to try and stop the bleeding.

"Not good, I think half his bones are broken." Tristan said panicking "He's bleeding, but I think I can patch it up. I'm more worried about internally, he could be worse than we know."

"We'll get him on the airship as soon as we get out of here." Kage said sending a message to the pilot "Nickole?"

"Almost… Got it!" she shouted pulling a disc out of a console in the observation room. She jumped down, disc and Kobalt's helmet in hand. Just as she hit the ground sirens started blaring throughout the base.

"That can't be good." Justin said stoically

" **UNAUTHORIZED DATA TAP, CORE MELTDOWN INITIATED."** A robotic voice echoed from a set of speakers.

"That's a bit cliché isn't it?" Kage asked aloud. He picked up Kobalt and threw him over his shoulder. "We need to leave, NOW."

Everyone nodded and took of sprinting ahead of him, but without Kobalt they had no way of knowing how to get out of the base. It had been like a maze on the way to the center, and going back would be even more confusing.

"Left up ahead!" Nickole shouted from the front, when they passed the infirmary Kage breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow Nickole had managed to remember the exact path they took to get inside. When they took a right turn at the armory, Kage actually started to think his students would make it through their first mission in one piece. Naturally that was when the floor shook and he heard the sound of an explosion from the generator room. They were just clearing the entrance when felt even more explosions echo off behind him. Before he could turn around to see them, Nickole pulled the same lever Kobalt had used to open the door. It slid shut just in time to stop the flames from reaching them.

"How's Kobalt?" she asked as soon as the explosion faded

"Not good we need to get him out of here and looked at soon." Kage said as the airship touched down behind him. _And fast, that explosion is sure to trigger some of the ash._

"Where to?" the pilot asked

"Nearest hospital should be in Patch." Kage told him laying Kobalt down on the floor of the ship. "Tristan get to work patching that wound."

"On it," Tristan sighed reaching for the med kit. "He's not bleeding too badly at least."

That moment Kobalt's chest started heaving rapidly, and he started sweating. Kage checked his pulse, it was weak barely pumping at all.

"What's going on?" Nickole asked

"He's in shock, the impact must've screwed with his heart," he told her "Tristan CPR."

"I don't…" Tristan hesitated "I can't…"

That was when Kobalt stopped moving, not breathing. Kage had seen this plenty of times before.

"He's going into cardiac arrest, Justin get over here." Kage ordered

"What?"

"Do you see a defibrillator?!" Kage shouted "Shock him now!"

"Right." Justin nodded laying his hands over Kobalt's chest. A short zap later and his pulse was back.

"We need to get to Patch before that happens again." Kage sighed as Kobalt came back. "How long?"

"Gunning it already, were still at least an hour out." The pilot told him

"That'll take way too long, he might not have that much time," Nickole stopped them "Take us to the Gareth Estate, 30 miles south of Zephyr, 10 miles east. My family can help him."

"How long would it take to get us there?" Kage asked the pilot

"At full speed, 45, maybe 40 minutes." The pilot said

"Nickole get up front and guide her in once we get there." Kage told her "Tristan get the med kit, we need to stop the bleeding."

That turned out to be the easy part, Kage spent the next half hour worrying if his student would go into arrest again. But Kobalt managed to stay stable the whole flight there, which was fortunate given the limitations on medical supplies.

"Unknown aircraft, identify yourself or leave our airspace." A voice called in over the radio.

"Aunt Joan, is that you?" Nickole asked as she slipped on the headset

"Nickole? What are you doing here, shouldn't you be at school?"

"It's a long story, but this is an emergency." Nickole told her "My team leader is seriously injured, he needs medical attention right way."

"We'll have a team ready as you land, how bad?"

"Large amounts of blood lost, multiple broken bones." Kage said coming into the cockpit hoping the mic would pick him up "He's gone into cardiac arrest once already, potential internal bleeding and maybe worse."

"Roger that, medical team is moving now." Joan said "By the way Nickole, your father is home. I imagine he'll have a few questions about this."

"I'll worry about him once my boyfriend in okay." Nickole told her

"Boyfriend?" Joan asked

"Me and my big mouth." Nickole whispered

"Well I can't wait to hear this story."

"With all due respect ma'am we don't have time to tell you a love story." Kage said taking the mic from Nickole. "We need to focus on keeping my student alive."

"Of course sir." She responded "My apologies."

"Touching down now." The pilot called out as the neared the estate's landing pad.

Kage was well aware of who the Gareth's were, any Huntsman worth his salt would be. A large family of warriors tends to draw some attention from Huntsmen community. But actually seeing the Gareth estate up close was something else. The only 'estate' part of it was the large manor that took up but a portion of the space. But the rest of the estate was a walled off fortress likely the size of Beacon, maybe a little smaller. They were heading for a series of landing pads sitting next to small military building with a control tower. Passed that were fields that looked dedicated to training exercises, targets lined some areas, while other had intense obstacle courses. Kage's view was abruptly cut off when the airship landed and the control tower was set in front of them. Kage opened the doors to see a medical team already there with a gurney. Justin helped them get Kobalt on it and they raced off towards the manor, already removing his armor to get a better look at his condition. The rest of his team raced of with them while Tristan stayed by the ship with Kage.

"Not going with them?" Kage asked him, but Tristan just stood there watching them rush Kobalt away. He had his rifle out and lowered, a bit his side was still coated in Kobalt's blood, he had the very image of a soldier walking off the battlefield.

"He's going to be okay, right?" Tristan asked him moments later

"We kept him alive this far, I'm sure the Gareths have a good team here for him." Kage reassured the young Huntsman in training. "Go with them, he's going to need all of you when he wakes up."

"Yeah, yeah you're right." Tristan said slinging his rifle across his back and running after them.

 _Poor kids,_ Kage thought as he watched them. _They're too young for all this._

"Professor Midori?" the pilot called form the cockpit "I've got Ozpin on the coms, he's asking for an update."

Kage sighed as he walked back into the airship, where to even begin, he put on the headset and took a deep breath.

"Ozpin, we've got a problem." He said calmly

"So that's everything that's happened so far?" Ozpin asked as Kage finished briefing him.

"Yeah, I don't know who Chairman Dusk is, or what this organization is," Kage added "But they've been able to stay off our radar for a long time."

"How long?"

"11 years from the sounds of it, maybe more. This Dusk said Auburn Gareth almost found out about them and that's why they attacked him."

"This is the organization that attacked the Gareths and disappeared?" Ozpin asked in shock "I had some of our Huntsmen try and track them down, they never got anywhere with it."

"And on top of that, they seem to have some way of spying on Kobalt. At Beacon." Kage informed him

"That shouldn't be possible, I may look into that personally but in the meantime Glynda will have to handle it." Ozpin said "And I'll alert the other Headmasters as well."

"And I'm assigning myself to team KNGT to keep an eye on them." Kage said "We should probably stay here as well, there's no way they can get eyes on Kobalt here."

"Agreed, I'll be on my way there before long." Ozpin said "It's been too long since I've had the pleasure of speaking with Roderick anyway."

"Are you sure Ozpin?"

"Yes, and there are a few things I'd like to ask Kobalt when I get there." Ozpin said "I'll tell the rest of the staff you've taken KNGT there for special training for the Vytal Tournament. I expect you to do some while you're there as it stands, they will be missing a lot of classes."

"Yes sir." Kage said clicking off the radio

"Excuse me, is there a Professor Midori in there?" a voice called from outside

"What is it now?" Kage sighed as he stepped out of the airship. He was greeted by the stunned face of a young Gareth soldier looking up at him. Right, his clothes had been burned off, he had almost forgotten about that.

"Um, they sent me to tell you that Kobalt is stable and they're going to be finishing up the surgery soon." The young man told him "I can take you there if you like."

"Yes of course." Kage said following him into the manor "You wouldn't happen to know if I could get some spare clothes in the meantime would you?"

"I'm sure someone inside can help you with that sir." The soldier squeaked, Kage was used to having that effect on people.

A few minutes later Kage found himself outside what looked like a standard emergency operating room. Tristan leaned against the wall tapping his fingers with his arms crossed, Justin sitting next to him perfectly calm. Nickole on the other hand was sitting across from them with her head back and in apparent relief.

"How's he doing?" Kage asked as he walked up to the viewing glass.

"They stopped some internal bleeding, mended a dozen or so bones. They're patching him up now." Tristan said "Shouldn't be much longer."

"Good, I just spoke with Ozpin, he…"

"Midori!" a man yelled from down the hall. Kage turned to see Faron Gareth, Nickole's father staring at him with rage in his eyes.

"Dad?" Nickole asked

"What the hell was my daughter doing out on a mission?" Faron asked "She's been at Beacon for a little over three months! You want her to end up like you?!"

"Dad!" Nickole yelled at her father

"Mr. Gareth you may want to calm yourself down a bit." Kage said politely "These kids nearly lost their friend, how about you don't set them off?"

"And there's that! That could've been her in there, what do you think I would've done if it was? I tell you what, I'd have torn you apart, cybernetic limb from limb until…"

"DAD!" Nickole yelled at the top of her lungs, finally getting her father's attention. "For the love of the winds would you calm down, I've got enough to worry about without you tearing into my professor!"

Before Faron could say anything else the operating room doors opened up and the surgeons wheeled Kobalt out. He was unconscious, and most of his upper body was covered in bandages.

"He's going to be out for a while, we gave him a sedative when he started to come to." The lead surgeon said

"And his heart?" Kage asked

"Force of the impact combined with high heart rate is our best guess." The surgeon said "Couldn't find anything wrong with it."

"Thank the winds. We'll take him upstairs, to the room next to mine." Nickole said "He can rest there."

"Nickole do you really think I'll allow…" Faron started before his daughter flashed him a look that sent chills up Kage's cybernetic spine.

"Okay fine, but I want an explanation later." He settled

"Relax you'll get one." She told him as she and KNGT walked with Kobalt down the hall. "And for the record, I volunteered to go on that mission."

"What, why?" Faron asked his daughter, she just smiled and patted Kobalt on the head as he slept.

"What even was this mission?" Faron asked Kage civilly once the kids were gone.

"I'll fill you in later, first I'd like to check on my student once he wakes up." Kage sighed "And get some new clothes."

"End of the hallway last door on the left. And they'll be taking him the third floor eastern wing. You'll know Nickole's door when you see it." Faron said turning around, "And sorry about that, you're a father I'm sure you understand."

After grabbing a sweatshirt and sweatpants from a supply closet, Kage borrowed some bandages from the surgical suite and wrapped up his face. He then roamed the third floor looking for Nickole's door, Faron wasn't kidding he knew it the second he saw it. A grey metal breastplate with the letters N G shot into it was hanging on the front of her door. Just as he got there he saw Nickole, Tristan and Justin walk out of the room next door.

"He's resting." Nickole said before he got the chance to ask "In the meantime there's someone I want you to see."

Nickole took off in the other direction before Kage could ask who she meant. They wound up in front of a door with a shield that had A G shot into it.

"Who is it?" Kage heard a familiar voice call out when Nickole knocked

"Your sister comes back from a mission and you don't even come say hi?" Nickole asked opening the door

"What?" Auburn Gareth asked as he wheeled around in his chair "Nickole? What do you mean mission?"

"It's a long story, but I've got something big." She said

"Professor Midori, what are you doing here?" Auburn asked seeing he was there

"I'll explain everything in a bit. In the meantime," Nickole said holding up the data disk "half of what's on here is encrypted, think you can help us out?"


	17. Chapter 17: Aftermath

Kobalt didn't know where he was, but he felt cold and tired, like he hadn't slept in ages. He knew he was moving, or being moved at the very least. When he tried to open his eyes all he saw were lights passing above, there were things in his peripheral, but he couldn't make them out. He felt everything slow and he passed under what seemed to be a doorway into darkness. He felt someone pick him up and move him, whatever they put him on was much more comfortable, and warm.

"Just rest for now." A girl's voice whispered as he tried to open his eye's further.

"Nickole?" he tried to ask before he fell back to sleep.

When Kobalt opened his eyes again he stood in the center of the solitary hill in the middle of an empty plain, pale yellow grass waved in the wind, and the light of the sun shone across everything he could see. A few feet in front of him stood his sword, impaled part way into a circle of stone in the ground. The sun began to rise rapidly, reaching the peak of its rotation in mere moments. As Kobalt reached out for his sword, the sky darkened, he looked up to see the moon beginning to block out the sun, the shadow it cast spread from the center of the sword across half of the stone circle, and only the circle. Kobalt pulled his hand away, something in the back of his mind warning him not to touch it. But something else in his mind urged him to draw his sword from the stone. It felt like an eternity to Kobalt, standing there wanting to take up his sword but at the same time not. When it finally felt like time was moving again a voice called out to him.

 _I am the shadow that covers the world._ It echoed across the plain, _I am the flame that burns in the night._

"Who's there?" Kobalt demanded

 _Dark is my soul yet light my heart. I exist as two and yet as one._ It continued, and Kobalt could now recognize the voice. It was his own. _Unfading and ever burning._

"Show yourself!" Kobalt shouted. He was answered by a wind so strong it nearly knocked him off his feet, he looked up to see the shattered fragments of the moon glide back into place, making it whole again. Upon completion a shockwave tore through the world and Kobalt was knocked out.

Kobalt woke with a start from the nightmare, his eyes darted around the room he found himself in. It was dark, but he could still make out a good portion of it clearly. He was lying in a canopy bed, covered in blankets, the room was almost empty save a nightstand and a few small tables. He tried to sit up, but felt a stabbing pain and his hand went to his side. When it touched the point of pain he felt the bandages that had been wrapped around him, but through them he still felt the coldness of his blood.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there." a voice told him, Kobalt looked to see a vaguely familiar face to his right. Long messy red hair, a pair of glasses, and bronze eyes.

"Auburn?" Kobalt asked, his mind still fuzzy. He had barely managed to piece those details together.

"Glad you remember me." he smiled "How you feeling?"

"Sore, where am I?"

"Gareth estate, your friends brought you here after your little, expedition, to the Ashen Tundra." Auburn said

Then it all came rushing back to Kobalt, the mission, the base, the Grimm, and the Chairman. The last thing he remembered was telling Nickole to get the data and leaping out the window.

"Nickole!" Kobalt realized "Where is she?"

"I'm not sure, we finished decrypting the data disc you found and she raced off." Auburn told him

"Oh no." he said swinging his legs out of bed. He had to stop her, he knew exactly what she was going to do.

"Hold on, you need to rest, you just had surgery to patch that slice in your side!" Auburn said trying to stop him. Kobalt pushed his wheelchair back and made for the door, for a moment he lost his balance and fell hard, knocking over a small table on his way down.

"I have to stop her." He said struggling to stand back up "She's going to go after them."

"Go after who?" Auburn asked as Kobalt reached the door

"Black Knight." Kobalt said opening the door. The light from the hallway blinded him for a second before his eyes adjusted and he made for the nearest window. Looking outside he saw a door open up below him, and out of it walked Nickole, fully suited up and armed. He raced off to the nearest staircase he could fine, doing his best to ignore the pain. He kept one hand on the wall the push himself along.

"Kobalt what are you talking about? Who's Black Knight?" Auburn asked wheeling up next to him "And why is Nickole going after them?"

"They're the ones who attacked you." Kobalt groaned as he reached the stairwell and Auburn stopped in his tracks. Kobalt took one step on to the lower stair and lost his balance. He went tumbling down all the stairs until he reached the bottom. Up above he heard Auburn calling his name, but he paid it no mind and went for the door. Fortunately for him it led outside towards where Nickole was heading. It was the dead of night, but lights from all over the place kept the outside as bright as day.

"Nickole!" he called after her when he spotted her again "Stop! Nickole!"

She turned around to face him, and for the first time Kobalt saw a pained look in her eyes.

"You should go back inside and rest." She told him "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep this up."

She turned back around and kept walking, she was heading for what looked like a garage near a large gate.

"I know you're going after them!" Kobalt shouted as he tried to keep up with her "Don't do it!"

"Why?" she turned on him "These people attacked my brother, and I saw some of what they did to you! Why shouldn't I go after them?"

"They will kill you Nickole!" Kobalt yelled "They will kill you without batting an eye, you have no idea what they're capable of!"

"And you have no idea what I'm capable of!" Nickole yelled at him "I'm not going to let them get away with everything they've done!"

She started walking faster for the garage, practically leaving Kobalt in her dust.

"Nickole wait!" Kobalt shouted as he tried to follow her. But as it had been so far he couldn't keep his balance, and tripped over himself trying to catch up to her.

"You idiot, you probably tore you stiches." Nickole said when she realized he fell "I'll send someone to come help you once I get to the garage."

"I don't think so." A voice called out from behind Kobalt as Nickole walked away again. Before Kobalt's eyes a trio of small tornados erupted from the ground and surrounded Nickole. Kobalt looked behind to see Auburn spinning his hand, clearly controlling the tornados.

"So you finally found out who it was didn't you?" Auburn asked wheeling up next to Kobalt and offering his free hand to help him up. Kobalt took it and felt his side where the pain was burning. When he touched the source it felt wet, very wet. "The people who attacked me, they're who Kobalt was with before now aren't they? And you think you can just go after them, all on your own?"

"I've been training for this my entire life!" Nickole yelled at her brother. "It's what I've been waiting for!"

"And I trained longer than you did!" Auburn yelled right back "I was a Huntsman for three years before I was attacked! And they rolled over me like I was a child! You think you're ready, right now?"

"Yes!"

"And what about him?" Auburn asked pointing to Kobalt " **HE** knows more about them than either of us, and he is tearing himself apart trying to stop you! Don't you care about that?"

Nickole just stood in silence, not even noticing the tornados dissipated.

"I'm going, I swore I'd make them pay for what they did." She said finally "I figured you'd to do want the same Kobalt."

"I'm never going back to them again, ever." Kobalt said "I lost years of my life and my memory to them, I won't give them another second. Nickole I am begging you, don't throw your life away to these people like I nearly did. It means too much to the people who care about you to be worth it."

"Fine, you win." She said after a brief moment of silence. Her hands fell to her sides in defeat. "I'll stay."

When Kobalt heard that, whatever had been keeping him going stopped, and he passed out.

"So you gonna try something stupid like that again or are you going to rest up this time around." Kobalt heard a voice ask when he started to come too. He opened his eyes to see Professor Midori sitting next to him reading a book. He was back in the same room form earlier, only this time it was light out, and he wasn't in as much pain.

"Doctors gave you some anesthetic for your wound, figured it'd hurt like hell after you ripped your stiches open." Midori said putting his book down. "What were you thinking?"

"Nickole, she didn't leave after I passed out, did she?" Kobalt asked

"No she's right next door in her room, Tristan and Justin are further down the hall." Midori told him

"Good, bring them here, they deserve to know the truth." Kobalt said

"You've remembered it all haven't you?" Midori asked opening the door.

"Not even close, I remember the important bits though." Kobalt admitted "There's still a lot missing, but I've got my answers."

A few minutes later all of Team KNGT was gathering around Kobalt's bed as he sat up to talk to them.

"So what's the deal Kobalt?" Tristan asked "What do you remember?"

"This is going to take a while," Kobalt sighed as he realized just how much he had to tell them. "Well I guess I should just dive right into it, that base we were at, was one of the experimental research bases belonging to a group known as Black Knight."

"One of?" Justin asked

"They have more, I don't know how many. But I know of a few other major bases." Kobalt said "They shipped me around between them over the years."

"What do you mean shipped you around, why were you with them?" Tristan asked

"I was training to be a Huntsman since I was a child I know that much, and then one day I was with them. I can't even remember how long I've been with them, really lost track of it over the years." Kobalt said, getting to his main point "They trained me, armed me, I was told I'd be the strongest warrior in history. And I was naïve enough to believe them, all I know is I wanted to be stronger, and whatever they were doing was helping. But they weren't doing everything they did to help me, or even the world. All they saw in me was a living weapon, they intended to use me to wipe out anything in their path. That probably made it easier for them to do all the things they did to me."

Even Nickole, who was clearly angry at him, didn't hide her surprise at that bit of knowledge. The mere memory of being subjected to all the different experiments still sent shivers down Kobalt's spine.

"What did they do to you?" Justin asked

"I don't honestly know, I never really understood most of what they did to me. But it was all supposed to make me stronger, and honestly it did." Kobalt admitted "Every time they finished I'd became so much stronger I almost couldn't believe it. And then one day, it was the opposite, I felt weaker. They told me it was just my body adjusting, but now I think they were starting to become afraid of me. Even the Chairman seemed more distant."

"That man on the monitor?" Midori asked

"Chairman Arthurias Dusk, head of Black Knight. He took a special interest in me, he used to come and talk with me a lot, and he's quite possibly the most arrogant man I've ever met." Kobalt spat, the anger he felt towards this one man still burned after escaping "He's put himself up on such a high pedestal he is basically the king of the organization. It's strange, I remember thinking he was a hero at first, someone who would do anything to save people. Then one day it was like I'd been betrayed. I can't make sense of most of it, my mind's jumbled."

"So what are you going to do?" Midori asked "You've remembered quite a bit, what do you plan to do with all this knowledge?"

"Give it to Ozpin, the Vale Council, whoever can bring them down." Kobalt said "And stay as far away from them as I can."

Nickole stormed right out of the room when he said that, slamming the door. It was no surprise to Kobalt, she wanted nothing more than to go after the people who hurt her brother. And here he was, wanting nothing to do with them whatsoever. Part of him was crushed that she wouldn't even consider his side. But another part couldn't blame her for wanting revenge.

"Don't worry about her man I'm sure she'll come around." Tristan said trying to cheer him up

"So you really don't want to go after Black Knight? After all they've done to you." Midori asked

"It's because of everything they've done to me that I don't want to go anywhere near them again." Kobalt said "Their main goal right now will either be to kill me, or recover me."

"Well the good news is Ozpin is making sure Beacon is secure, and we will be staying here until then. I've already cleared that with Faron, Nickole's father." Midori told them "The bad news, we have no idea just how powerful Black Knight is. I don't suppose you know what kind of attack they could mount?"

"A frontal assault isn't their style, if they make a move it's going to be quiet." Kobalt told him "And if they were to charge in I can only imagine how strong of a person they would send in, maybe even the Chairman himself."

"But you escaped, they can't be that tough if you managed to break out alone." Justin said

"They thought I was still one of them, they had no idea I planned on leaving them." Kobalt shook his head "I escaped because they didn't have enough guards and I caught them by surprise. And even then I lost my memory doing so. They're too strong."

"Well if that's the case then we'll just have to get you all stronger." Midori said "I planned on something along these lines, but it was more because it's my job to do that. Now it's to keep you alive."

"Thank you professor, I think I'm starting to get a good idea of what kind of person you are." Kobalt said "When do we start?"

"The rest of your team will start after lunch," Midori began "You will start once the doctors here clear you. So I suggest you get some rest."

"Fine." Kobalt sighed, he knew Midori was right "Guys can you keep an eye on Nickole for me? Make sure she doesn't do anything crazy."

"You got it man, I'll see if I can't calm her down too." Tristan said seriously and with none of his usual crass tone.

"Professor, get me the decrypted data disc Nickole got from the base." Kobalt added "I need to make sure the data on it isn't false, and…"

"Say no more, I'll get it." Midori patted him on the shoulder before leaving.

The next few days of the week were roughly the same for Kobalt, he would sleep from when the sun went down till when it came up, or try to at least. Each morning he would do what little exercises the doctor allowed him and eat the breakfast someone had laid out for him while he slept. At his insistence at leaving the room, the Gareths were kind enough to give him a wheelchair like Auburn's so he could at least move around. He spent a lot of his time exploring the mansion that was Nickole's home. He still couldn't believe this was where she was from. The rest of his time was spent watching his team train, and helping Midori manage their exercises. He had really thrown himself into his role as leader back at Beacon, and learned a good portion of his team's strengths and weaknesses. Save for Nickole, who already seemed to be surpassing what Kobalt thought he knew about her skills. One day he found himself watching his team run an obstacle course set up in one of the fields, Tristan and Justin were stuck trying to get through swinging pillars, while Nickole was waiting for them at the end of the course.

"She's has a lot experience with the training we do here." A man's voice said behind Kobalt. He turned to see a tall man with silver armor over white robes. He had light wavy brown hair and a thin beard, and his eyes were a deep bronze. "Your professor should give her something more challenging."

"She's out there to motivate the rest of my team," Kobalt told the stranger "If they see her finishing so easily they'll push themselves harder."

"I don't think we've had the chance to talk, my name is Faron Gareth." The man introduced "I'm Nickole's father."

"I gathered, she has your eyes. I'm Kobalt." He introduced himself

"I must say I've heard quite a bit about you, mind joining me for a walk?" Faron asked

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Kobalt smiled motioning to his wheelchair.

"You know you'd think after over a decade of my oldest son being stuck in one of those I'd manage to remember not to say things like that." Faron smiled awkwardly, he walked up behind Kobalt and began pushing his chair "But even still I talk to Auburn like he still has two working legs."

"I'm sure he doesn't mind, I bet he likes not being treated too differently because of something like that." Kobalt figured "So just how have you heard of me I imagine…"

"Mostly Nickole, though Auburn gave me his thoughts of you after you and Nickole called him the other month." Faron said "You can imagine my surprise when Nickole told me you two were dating. I was quite anxious to meet my daughter's first boyfriend."

"I'm not sure if that title will be sticking much longer to be honest." Kobalt admitted "She's not big on how I'm dealing with Black Knight, she's not even talking to me."

"She hasn't been speaking too fondly of you either, it's strange until you stopped her she always seemed so happy when she mentioned you." Faron said stopping the chair at small patio that overlooked the rest of the training fields. "But after that night, well…"

"I can't imagine its anything good." Kobalt assumed

"No, not quite, it was quite the change in the wind. But you did likely save my daughter's life when you convinced her not to leave. I won't soon forget that." Faron said pulling up a chair next to Kobalt "And I've seen the footage of your battles, if you were holding back as much as I think you were in all of those, then Nickole wouldn't stand a chance against this _Black Knight_ would she?"

"I'm afraid not." Kobalt said "Wait, how did you know…."

"What kind of Huntsman do you take me for?" Faron smiled "When I asked for information about you from Ozpin, he sent me everything his cameras in the Emerald Forest caught of you. Even your fight with Midori's cousin."

"I'm going to need to get myself a copy of that." Kobalt laughed

"Why did you hold back in that fight? Wouldn't it have been easier to beat her quickly rather than run the risk of losing?" Faron asked

"It was a team assignment, if I did all the work my team wouldn't get a good grade." Kobalt said "Plus if I had gone all out on Viridian, her pride would've been decimated."

"So you'd rather let her keep holding her head high than end an exam quickly?"

"Well that and I wanted to test a theory or two, I wanted to see if Nickole could project her runes on a small target under pressure." Kobalt admitted "And I wanted to see just how good of a shot Tristan was. Wound up blowing almost all my Aura clearing a space for him."

"Never underestimate my daughter." Faron smiled "She'll surprise you at every turn."

"That she does, still I wasn't about to let her throw her life away."

"No, an organization that's been able to hide not only from me, but from Ozpin all these years," Faron shuddered "I can't even begin to imagine what they would've done had she gone after them."

"I don't need to imagine. I know exactly what would've happened."

"Nickole's a smart girl, I'm sure she'll realize you were right eventually." Faron assured him standing up "When she does we can be properly acquainted."

Kobalt chuckled as Faron walked away and rolled over to his team, who were eating lunch. Tristan looked exhausted, but Kobalt had already seen an improvement in his reaction time. Justin was getting better at predicting attacks, and Nickole was breezing through training. He couldn't help but wonder if she had been holding in their training back at Beacon.

"Hey team, how ya feeling?" Kobalt asked as he rolled up

"Tired," Tristan said tossing him a bread roll "You? When can get out of that thing?"

"Not sure, doctors are saying I'm healing remarkably fast, maybe I'll be up and moving tomorrow." Kobalt mused

"Good, you can start trying to catch up with our training." Nickole said almost coldly. Kobalt did his best not to let it bother him, she could stay angry at him as long as she wanted, so long as she was alive to be angry.


	18. Chapter 18: Down Range

Tristan ducked as the pillar came racing down where his head had been moments ago, he slid under a beam and leapt over a pit of water. And he had only just started the first obstacle course in the Gareth's training field. Already far ahead of him was Nickole, who had started at the exact same time as him and Justin. Tristan tried his best to clear the rest of the course without falling, but when he got to the halfway point with a series of swinging pillars he was already exhausted. Trying to get past this would be almost impossible for him in his current state, and he had never been very fast in the first place. Meanwhile Nickole was sitting on the small platform at the end of the course, she had been done before Tristan even got this far. Determined not to let her outshine him, he rushed forward, and was nailed in the side by one of the pillars as it swung back down. The wind knocked out of him, Tristan crawled back to the halfway point and took a moment before trying to make the run again. Each pillar was swinging at different speeds, if he wanted to make it across, he couldn't stop once he started moving. Trying again, Tristan sprinted down the thin beam as pillars swung mere inches behind him. He was about to reach the end when the last pillar nailed him in the chest and knocked him off again.

"I think that's enough for now." Midori said walking over to them "Almost had it there Tristan, try to be a bit faster next time."

"Yeah, faster." Tristan gasped for air. Justin walked over and helped him up. They had been at this for days and Tristan had barely made any progress on the damn obstacle courses. A shooting range was his domain, but he was no parkour master, and struggled with an obstacle course even this simple.

"Go get something to eat," Midori said "Kobalt will probably join you in a few."

"Great, food." Tristan sighed "And maybe something to drink."

As they sat down to eat, Tristan started to think about the first time he saw this place. He still couldn't get over the sheer size of Nickole's home, it was practically a military base, only way friendlier. And everyone here was part of her family, that part he still couldn't get over, there were hundreds of people here. Just how big was her family?

"Hey team, how ya feeling?" Kobalt asked as he rolled up in his new wheelchair.

"Tired," Tristan said tossing him a bread roll "You? When can get out of that thing?"

"Not sure, doctors are saying I'm healing remarkably fast, maybe I'll be up and moving tomorrow." Kobalt mused

"Good, you can start trying to catch up with our training." Nickole said coldly. She had been treating Kobalt like he didn't exist for the past few days, and Tristan had no idea why. She seemed so concerned for him when he came out of the operating room, she had even chewed out her own father. But now it was like she wished he wasn't here.

"So what's the plan for the rest of the day?" Kobalt asked "I can't imagine Midori is letting you off the hook that easy."

"I'm heading over to shooting range later, Midori wants to test my marksmanship." Tristan laughed

"Doesn't he already have a good idea from his exam the other week?" Kobalt asked

"Not good enough I guess." Tristan chuckled "Any tips for me Nickole, I figure you know a lot about this place. I mean it is your home right, or are you just some rich girl pretending to be Nickole?"

"The shooting range is split up into two parts, the main range and the shooting course." Nickole said "And if you think I'm acting weird you can just tell me."

"I do, but I'll get to that later, range is this way right?" Tristan asked pointing over to the far field. Nickole nodded and Tristan took off, looking forward to some easy training he could relax doing. When he got there, a rough looking guy in MultiCamo combat armor was waiting by the entrance for him. Like almost everyone else here he had bronze eyes, but he also had a light brown beard and a buzz cut.

"You part of KNGT?" the guy asked as Tristan approached

"Yeah."

"Heard you were coming, we've got the range and course set up." he said "Hit the range for a bit, warm yourself up first. What do you shoot?"

"Sniper rifle, if you couldn't already tell." Tristan said slinging Starfall of his back and tossing it to the guy "Do me a favor and give me a bit of a challenge, take a few shots with it if it helps you get an idea for what I'm used to."

The man adjusted his grip on the rifle and took a shooters stance, he let off a few rounds towards the range in quick succession.

"Not bad, what kind of ammo system does it use?" he asked handing Starfall back.

"One big battery actually, it's less rifle more particle accelerator." Tristan told him "Accelerates them through the barrel and heats them up as they leave. Dust powered core in the stock keeps the whole thing running smoothly."

"You designed this?"

"Well I came up with the idea, but I had some help building it." Tristan admitted.

"Name's Burg, Nickole's cousin, I'm the quartermaster here." He said

"I kinda guessed, you're too young to be her uncle." Tristan joked "Seriously though, everyone here is related?"

"All of us, it's a big family." Burg shrugged "Come on, I think I've got just the lane for you."

Burg led him to the far end of the range where unlike the rest of the range lines there was no table for his weapon. Instead the ground was left open for someone to lie down on. Looking down range Tristan's eyes were already spotting a large number of targets, some human shaped some Grimm shaped. They couldn't have been more than seven hundred meters away, and Tristan was eager to redeem himself after barely hitting anything in Midori's exam.

"I said I wanted a challenge." Tristan protested, dropping to the ground and scoping in.

"Oh don't worry they'll all be moving too." Burg grinned "Ready when you are."

"Start it." Tristan said already sighting down range getting a better feel for the targets. He found them moving under the ridgeline as far out as the range went. Four human shaped targets moving back and forth, and three Grimm shaped ones, each chasing a small target.

"I assume I'm not supposed to shoot the smaller target out there." Tristan said

"Technically no, the Grimm targets will get closer to it every few seconds, you're supposed to hit the before that happens." Burg said "But feel free to give it a shot, still a challenge to hit."

 _Not really_ Tristan thought, already predicting the exact spots and time to fire and. He let off one shot, shifted targets and fired again. One by one he blew holes in every target he could see, the

"That the best you got?" Tristan asked a slack jawed Burg.

"You know, my little sister is about your age." Burg said regaining his composure "You want to join the family?"

"Thanks but I'm already in a committed long term relationship." Tristan laughed

"Well you might as well take a crack at the course then." Burg said "No point in keeping you here if you can already out shoot everyone here."

"There aren't going to be any swinging pillars are there?" Tristan asked

"No, the shooting course is set up like forest environment with pop up and mobile targets." Burg told him "Not like the other courses we have."

"Good, I've had enough of being smacked in the face by swinging pillars." Tristan said as he approached the starting line.

"Follow the path and shoot hostile targets as you see them, there are human styled targets out there too, so watch for whether they're civilian or armed." Burg said pulling up his stop watch, "We'll be monitoring and timing you the way through. Ready?"

Tristan nodded already adjusting the scope to a lower setting, and the gate swung open and he sprinted through down the path. Instantly a beowolf styled target popped up in front of him, a quick pull of the trigger and he was back to moving down the path. Tristan did his best to never stop moving throughout the course. A target would pop up to his sides and he'd quickly double check the target and fire, slowing down as little as possible while still making sure he hit. He vaulted over a fallen tree and dropped three more Grimm targets before rushing through the finish line.

"That was one of the best runs I've seen in a while. Damn impressive, especially since you've never run it before." He rambled on "Perfect record for targets in two minutes and thirty three seconds. Fastest I've seen since I took over here, third overall."

"What's the fastest?" Tristan couldn't help but ask, Burg pointed over to a leaderboard on the wall behind him. Tristan looked to see a series of names he didn't recognize, topped by one he did.

3.) Dill: 2:59:10

2.) Gainsboro: 2:20:50

1.) Nickole: 1:30:12

"She's one of the best fighters we've ever sent out to a Huntsman Academy." An older man said walking up on a cane "Never seen anything quite like her. It's funny, she didn't seem like a warrior growing up."

"Grandfather?" Burg asked practically snapping to salute "What are you doing here sir?"

"I heard we had a young man who could out shoot even you Burgundy." The old man said "I had to see this for myself. To get the third fastest time on the shooting course on your first try, that is impressive."

"Thank you sir." Tristan said "Still though, never knew Nickole was that fast."

"She was barely trying, and we forbade her from using her runes as well." The old man added "Of course if Auburn was still up for it I'm sure he could blow that time out of the water. Of course, he finished his training."

"You're kidding, I was hauling ass through the whole course. How good are those two?" Tristan asked in shock, he had never thought Nickole was that good. But then he realized he had never actually seen her fight. During initiation she fought briefly with Justin, and helped with the Manticore, but she had never really gone all out in front of him. Even in training with Kobalt. He would've asked more about her but at that second his scroll went off. Midori was calling him back.

"I have go, thanks for your help." Tristan added, slinging Starfall over his shoulder and waving goodbye to Burg. On instinct he turned back to the old man "Sir, have a good day."

"Wait I never got your name for the board!" Burg called out as Tristan left

"Tristan Glaucous!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Tristan returned to the field a few days later after another round at the range, Midori had gathered the rest of the team with the exception of Kobalt. Their team leader was still out of commission, and he had plenty of things to get through already. Tristan had seen just how devastating his memories coming back were first hand, and now they were coming back in stride. Whatever Justin and Nickole had been doing had clearly tired them out, they were both gulping down water like they hadn't had anything to drink in days.

"So what's next on the list?" Tristan asked his professor

"I figure we've done enough physical training for the week," Midori said "Time to work on your semblances."

"Excuse me?" Tristan asked

"You heard me. I doubt you can truly control your semblance, few students can in their first year." Midori said "I'd be shocked if you had already reached your maximum potential. Take Nickole, she's constantly finding new runes to learn and master."

"What about Justin and I? No offense bro, but what more could we do?"

"He has the ability to generate and fully manipulate electricity correct?" Midori checked "What if that ability is not confined to his body alone? There are dozens of possibilities for all of you."

"So how do we find out?" Justin asked

"It's really quite similar to how you discovered your semblance in the first place. For me, when I unlocked mine, I learned I had control over a strange form of plasma energy. But I needed to learn just how to control it." Midori revealed generating a ball of green energy in his hand, it looked like Kobalt's energy only it crackled with green lightning. "The difficult part was learning just how much I could control it, when I was young I focused the energy into a single place with no control over its form or flow. Eventually I got to where I am now."

"So we just experiment until something happens." Tristan assumed

"Yep." Midori said "Nickole I imagine you…"

"Already have my own way of working on runes," Nickole cut him off "Crafting them takes a lot of time. Why aren't you having Kobalt work on his, you can still use a semblance in a wheelchair."

"His semblance puts a large strain on his body and his Aura." Midori said coolly "I figured you would've understood that having worked with him for so long."

"He should still be here." She said storming off towards an empty patch of the field.

"Okay that's it!" Tristan yelled chasing after her, he grabbed her arm to stop her in her tracks. Any other day he would've been scared shitless by the glare she gave him, but not today. Part of him couldn't believe he was the one about to give her a lecture, but more of him was pissed at the way she'd been acting.

"I don't know what your problem is with Kobalt, but you need to get over it!" Tristan yelled at her "I worked too hard to get you two together for you to start treating him like this. Especially after everything he's been through."

"Like you care." She told him off

"I do! I know I don't say it but you two are my friends, so it pisses me off seeing all this. Damnit all Nickole can't you tell the guy is worried about you?" Tristan asked her "On top of all the crap he must be going through with his memories coming back he still cares about you more. So why the hell are you so pissed at him?"

"Because he kept me from chasing the people who took him and crippled my brother!" Nickole snapped, everyone else stood in stunned silence, but that just set Tristan off further.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me! That's why you're pissed at him? I assumed he said something stupid, but you're pissed at him for that? Did you forget about the huge Grimm we fought at their base?" Tristan roared "Or the fact that they were able to take down your brother, who was a _fully trained_ Huntsman? Or was it the fact that Kobalt himself wants nothing to do with these people? And you think _you_ can take them on _alone_? And here I was thinking you were the smartest person on this team!"

"You listen to me Glaucous…" Nickole started

"No you listen to me _Gareth._ " Tristan cut her off "I don't care how tough you think you are having been trained here, your brother was tougher and lost. Kobalt has been with them for years, he knows who they are and what they do, and **_he_** doesn't even want to go against these guys. And you know what he really needs right now? Friends, cause he can't even sleep at night because of all the memories coming back to him. You remember the first time that happened right? Well it's happened every night since we got here."

"How do you know…?" Nickole started

"Because he told me! Because he's coming to me with this shit because his girlfriend won't even talk to him like they're friends." Tristan told her "So unless you don't want to stay his girlfriend, stop being so damn self-centered and talk to him!"

He let go of her arm and she left without a word, heading to the furthest field away from them. Tristan turned around to see Midori and Justin staring at him, along with every member of the Gareth family within earshot.

"You done?" Justin asked

"What you gonna hit me?" Tristan asked his brother

"No but you get loud when you're angry." Justin said "And I don't think I've ever heard you yell like that."

"She's been pissing me off all week. She was so concerned for Kobalt when we got here," Tristan said "Now it like she wants him to drop dead."

"You kids these days." Midori sighed "I'll never know how to deal you."


	19. Chapter 19: Subject Analysis

Rain dripped on to Kobalt's helmet, clinking loudly as he stood in the center of the abandoned village. An old Atlas colony on the coast of Sanus Dusk had told him, the place had stayed standing for decades after the war, in part due to aid from its governing kingdom. A couple years ago though it had apparently suffered a Grimm attack, and though most of the colonists escaped back to Atlas, the village was lost. Though village seemed a poor term, the colony seemed more like a district in a larger city. The buildings were like those in Atlas and unlike other villages Kobalt had been to, this one had an abundance of technology. There was no smith's forge or even a tailor, instead Kobalt found the ruins of mechanic's shops, Dust stores, and even a high end clinic. No doubt this place was once sprawling with life, people from Atlas looking to get away from the frigid wastes they once called home. Now though, it was almost sad just to walk through, it felt dead.

"Kobalt? You still with us over there?" a dispatcher ringed in his com link.

"Yeah sorry, just getting a feel for the colony." He answered "You sure we don't need any medical supplies? I bet the clinic over there still has plenty."

"We can provide for ourselves Kobalt, don't worry about our supplies." Chairman Dusk said entering the coms. "We need the security data, discovering what happened leading up to the Grimm attack and how the colony fell is what's crucial here."

"Yes sir, where am I looking for it again?"

"Security building, overlooking the town square." The dispatcher told him "Keep your eyes open we don't know what's out there."

"Roger that." Kobalt sighed as he brought up his pistol and clicked off the safety. It might not have been his usual one, but he had insisted on a temporary replacement for this mission at the least. He checked his motion tracker on his HUD only to remember the rain was screwing with the sensor and turned it off. Too bad the damn helmet didn't have sonar, or thermal, or night vision. On second thought maybe he ought to bring that up with the techs when he got back. Though even without night vision the town was still fairly well-lit from the moonlight that made it through the clouds. Still part of him wished it wasn't, walking around and seeing all the damage the Grimm had done bothered him deeply. Some buildings were caved in from large Grimm while other had claw marks slashed through them from others. A few steps later Kobalt felt his foot make contact with something other than the wet pavement he was used to. He looked down to see his foot crushing a small teddy bear, bleached of color and soaked by the rain Kobalt was surprised to see it still in one piece. He bent down and picked it up in his free hand, a small nut was tied around it like a necklace, and there was a name written on the foot, _Hazel_. Somehow that off all things had survived.

"Kobalt? You haven't moved in a bit." The dispatcher called out again "You find something?"

"It's nothing." Kobalt said as he put the bear back down, this time under the cover of a fallen street sign. "I'm moving again."

"I must say you've healed quite rapidly." The doctor said as he removed Kobalt's bandages "Are you sure your semblance isn't healing?"

"Quite sure doctor, can I go now?" Kobalt asked, being in the infirmary reminded him far too much of the operating rooms he been in with Black Knight.

"Yes you're fine, you can continue with normal activities now." The doctor said "Just try to be careful, we'd hate to have you down here again."

"And I'd hate to be back here again." Kobalt grumbled

"I take it you don't like doctors." He smiled

"How much have you heard about me?" Kobalt asked as he got of the examination table "I imagine there are a few rumors going around."

"If they're true I hope you never have to see another doctor ever again. Take care of yourself." He added "And get some rest, you look like you haven't slept in days."

He didn't sleep that night either.

Kobalt's eyes shot open as the same memory from last night faded, he brought a hand up to his face to find himself drenched in sweat. He rolled over and checked the time, it was 5:30 in the morning the sun would be up soon. He might as well get up now, maybe go for a walk or something now that he could. He swung his legs out of bed and threw on some light clothes, a pair of jeans and a t-shirt were all he could find in the dark. He walked over to his door, glad to no longer need the wheelchair he had been using. When he opened it he was shocked to see Nickole already standing there with a plate of food in her hands. The same food that he found outside his door every morning.

"N-Nickole?" he stammered

"You need to eat something." she said slamming the plate into his hands, looking just as angry as she had been all week. She turned and walked into her room next door, slamming her door shut.

"Well she doesn't seem to be in a very good mood." Professor Ozpin off to his side.

"No she doesn't." Kobalt agreed "Wait, Ozpin?"

Kobalt turned around to actually see Ozpin standing behind him acting as though he belonged there. His usual coffee mug was replaced by one with a large G engraved on it, and he almost seemed more like a normal person than the other times Kobalt had seen him.

"I suppose 'good morning' would be a bit much right now wouldn't it?" Ozpin mused taking a sip of his drink "How are you feeling?"

"Please tell me that's a rhetorical question, because I'm getting sick of answering it." Kobalt said putting the plate in his room "What are you doing here Professor shouldn't you be at Beacon, I imagine you have bigger things to worry about."

"Care to join me for a walk Kobalt?" Ozpin asked him "There are some things I'd like to discuss with you."

"I can't imagine what." Kobalt said sarcastically

"So it seems you were right when we talked in my office, you did indeed find something in the Tundra." Ozpin said as they started down the hallway. "Midori told me what he learned from the base, but I would like to hear it from you. Who are they?"

"Black Knight, the best way I could describe them is something like anti Huntsmen Academies. They hide bases across the world where they train soldiers and analyze the kingdoms." Kobalt told him "It sounds like something out of a bad spy movie, but it's true. They have more than soldiers too, scientists, engineers, and technology beyond what I've seen at Beacon."

"Should I be preparing for war then?" Ozpin asked

"There's a difference between soldiers and an army. They don't have enough to launch a major attack on a kingdom. Even with everything they have your numbers are still big enough to make a difference. The only advantage they have is better gear." Kobalt said, "I think I was intended to be the trump card, they used to train me to fight Huntsmen. They told me if I could defeat a Huntsman nothing else could stop me, now I think it was to take out the main threat in their path."

"And what would their path be, what are they after?" Ozpin asked

"If you believe the Chairman, permanent world peace." Kobalt scoffed "Or his version of it, with him at the top. But that plan is a long ways off."

"And what do you think they'll do in the meantime?"

"Right now I'm their biggest threat, I've been to all their major bases, I know them inside and out, or rather I did. And they've put a lot of their resources into me." Kobalt started "Their main objective right now is to capture or kill me, before I remember too much and give you enough information to take them down."

"Well I doubt they could get in here again after what they did to Auburn." Ozpin said "The defenses of this estate have been extensively upgraded, I doubt some of our best Huntsmen could sneak in here. And Beacon will soon be secured, can't have one of our students attacked on campus now can we."

"Don't worry professor, if they were to come after me they'd get more than they bargained for." Kobalt told him "I don't plan on going down without a fight, and with everything they did to me it won't be easy for them."

"And what would that be?"

"That's the thing, I know they were doing some crazy stuff to me." Kobalt began "But I can't remember exactly what, they planned on doing more before I escaped."

"So how do you propose we find out?" Ozpin asked "Would a medical scan reveal anything?"

"Yeah probably, but the real question is would the doctors here be able to understand what they're looking at." Kobalt told him.

""Why don't you let me worry about that?" Ozpin suggested, "Follow me, I know my way around here well enough by now."

"You've been here before?"

"I trained with some of the Huntsmen here." Ozpin explained "Should be this way."

A little ways down the hall and Kobalt found himself behind Ozpin knocking on a door with his cane.

"It's unlocked." a woman's voice called from inside, Ozpin opened the door and Kobalt followed him into what looked like a standard office. Inside was a woman who was the spitting image of Nickole, with a few exceptions, she had brown hair and pale blue eyes instead.

"Ozpin?" she asked looking up from her computer to the door.

"Citrine, good to see you again." Ozpin greeted

"What brings you to my office, hell my house, at this hour?" she asked clearly intrigued "You're not just here to visit Roderick are you?"

"Actually I'm here to see one of my students," Ozpin said "Allow me to introduce…"

"Kobalt, yes I know who he is." Citrine cut him off

"You must be Nickole's mother." Kobalt said as gracefully as he could "Nice to meet you."

"Polite, good looking, and from about half of what I've heard a great guy." She said analyzing Kobalt "I guess Nickole got more from me than my looks."

"Umm, thanks." Kobalt said embarrassed "I have to say it's almost scary how much you look like her."

"I don't supposed you'd mistake me for her older sister?" she jokingly asked Kobalt

"Well I already knew she only had one older sibling so…." Kobalt said awkwardly

"Citrine not to be rude but this is actually important." Ozpin interrupted "I'm not here to see friends and Kobalt isn't here as Nickole's boyfriend, he needs your help."

"Mine?"

"You're the head of the medical staff here aren't you?" Ozpin confirmed "I need you to arrange a full body scan for him immediately."

"This is about that Black Knight stuff isn't it?" she asked, pursing her lips.

"You know?" Kobalt asked

"Nickole talks to me a lot, and I hear things from my husband as well." She said "What are we looking for?"

"Anything that shouldn't be present in a normal human body, beyond that I'm not really sure." Ozpin said, Citrine picked up the scroll on her desk to make a call.

"Ash it's Citrine, prep the scanner." She said "I'm on my way down with a very important patient. Both of you follow me."

They followed her down to the bottom floor of the estate, Kobalt expected to go back into the place where he had been getting checked up on for the past week. But when they walked right by it without breaking pace Kobalt was left wondering just how large the medical section of the estate was. They walked through a set of double doors where a very sleepy looking man was standing.

"For the love of the wind Sheen your shifts been going for three hours, get some coffee." Citrine said when she saw him

"I'm fine, I'm just coming off a study session for my entrance exam." He yawned "He's waiting for you in radiology by the way."

"That's coming up already?" Citrine asked, a look of self-scolding crossed over her face as he nodded "Get some sleep then, and if you need any help come to my office. That takes priority."

They passed through another set of doors and Kobalt found himself in a much friendlier testing room than he was used to.

"Citrine, the imager's ready, I assume this young man is our patient?" a man in a lab coat asked as he walked over. He had short grey hair and light beard, a small pair of glasses hung over his eyes.

"Yep, try not to kill him Ash." Citrine smiled

"I'm just running one scan, Citrine. You and Professor Ozpin can wait in the observation room with me while I do." Ash said "This way please young man."

Ash brought him down into a large room with a single machine in the center, it looked like a giant tube with a plank in the center.

"I'm going to have to ask you to change into a pair of scrubs," Ash said "If you've worn those clothes for more than a few hours then the residue Aura will mess with the image."

"Sure," Kobalt said already grabbing a pair from a nearby shelf. He pretended not to hear Ash gasp when he took off his shirt, no doubt shocked by the number of scars Kobalt had. When he changed Ash approached him with an empty syringe and motioned for Kobalt to stick out his arm. Kobalt bit his lip and resisted the urge to blast Ash away as the needle went in, as much as he hated doctors this was his idea.

"I'm just going to draw some blood," he said injecting the needle "And I'm going to need your name for the label."

"Kobalt." He said

"Full name please." Ash said

"That all I've got, I'm part of Team KNGT if that helps." Kobalt said

"Ah yes, Nickole's team leader, you must be the K then." Ash said awkwardly pulling the filled vial of blood out and reaching for another syringe "That'll be enough I suppose. I'm going to have to inject you with a contrast so we get a clearer image. It's going to feel cold as it flows through you."

Kobalt nodded as he was injected with the chemical, Ash hadn't been kidding, the second the syringe was empty Kobalt's arm felt like he had dunked it in ice water. Still, it wasn't the most unpleasant sensation he had known. Kobalt laid down in the machine and waited for the scan to begin. Ash stepped out of the room and soon Kobalt felt the machine begin to move.

"I'm starting up the scan now," He heard Ash say over a speaker in the machine "It's going to take a while, so you might want to take a nap or something."

"I don't see that happening." Kobalt told him, not sure if he could even be heard.

"Would you like some music?" Ash suggested

"No, I'll be fine." Kobalt answered

"So tell me Kobalt, what do you think of my daughter?" Citrine asked him as he waited there. "I know she's cute but what else do you like about her?"

"I'm sorry what?" Kobalt asked in shock, nearly slamming his head into the top of the scanner.

"You heard me, Faron might trust Nickole to make sure you're not up to anything." She said "But I'd like to make sure you're not just some clever boy telling her what she wants to hear."

"You're doing this because I can't go anywhere aren't you?" Kobalt asked

"Bingo!" Citrine laughed "Start talking."

"She's the most amazing girl I've ever met, and I think that includes any ones I don't remember." Kobalt smiled "I wouldn't have half the answers I do if it weren't for her. She was the first person to really help me find the truth of who I am and she's never done anything but impress me from the moment I met her."

"Good answer young man." Citrine said

"I just wish she wasn't so bent on chasing after Black Knight." Kobalt admitted "I understand how she feels, the way she wants revenge, but they're more dangerous than anything you know."

"I hope you're wrong Kobalt, truly I do." Ozpin chimed in reminding Kobalt of his presence.

About an hour later Kobalt was waiting with Ozpin and Citrine outside the imager room waiting for Ash to come in with the results of the scan. Kobalt wasn't sure who was more anxious, him or Ozpin. The Headmaster of Beacon had never struck Kobalt as someone who could be anxious, yet here he was, sitting forward in his chair like he was about to receive some bad news. Ash walked through the doors a moment later, bringing a large version of a scroll with him.

"I'm not quite sure what I'm looking at here." Ash admitted as he walked in "I'm a good doctor but I'm no scientist, all I can really tell from this is that you've had surgeries for numerous different reasons. But I can't tell what."

"Is it all on the scroll?" Ozpin asked

"Yes why?"

"May I see it?" Ozpin asked holding out his hand. Once it was in his possession he began typing in commands rather quickly. Soon enough the screen changed to what Kobalt recognized as a video call, and man who was clearly military answered. He was wearing a white overcoat decorated with military badges on the collar and his hair was mostly black but had some greying.

"Ozpin?" The man asked "What are you calling for at this hour?"

"Hello General, sorry to bother you but I need to be put through to your head scientist." Ozpin said

"Honestly Oz," The man chuckled "Enough with the formalities, and if you need to talk to her that bad you can just message me rather than call."

"Well I do like making sure you're taking your position seriously," Ozpin smiled "This is important James, so the sooner the better. It's related to that Black Knight issue I told you about."

"Of course, I patching you through to Doctor Cole now." He said "I hope she's of some help to you."

The screen went black for a moment, then it switched to show a small section of what Kobalt knew was a lab. Sliding over in a chair from the right was a young dark skinned woman with short dark brown hair, wearing a white lab coat, and a pair of thin glasses.

"Hello I am Doctor Sienna Cole, and apparently General Ironwood insists that this is more important that my work." She introduced herself, sounding more than a little annoyed "Ah the famous Professor Ozpin. So, what pressing concerns do you have for me?"

"Hello Doctor Cole." Ozpin told the young scientist "If you don't mind, how adept are you at physiological analysis?"

"Why don't you give me something to work with other than a question?" she asked back

"Very well, I'm sending a data file over to you momentarily." Ozpin said typing in the commands "Take a look at this and tell me what you can make of it."

"I'm receiving it now, hold on." Dr. Cole said turning her chair to another computer. Over the course of one minute Kobalt got the feeling she had looked over the entire file in detail.

"Interesting, very interesting." She noted reading down the file "If you don't mind my asking, how is any of this possible?"

"That's what we were hoping you could explain." Ozpin said

"I'd settle for knowing what rather than how." Kobalt chimed in

"And you are?" Dr. Cole asked

"My name should be in that file, Kobalt."

"Dr. Cole the sad truth is we're are incapable of understanding most of that scan." Ozpin said "We were hoping you could tell us what we're looking at."

"Fascinating, I never imagined someone might…never mind" Dr. Cole hummed "Very well young man, sorry Kobalt, I assume you don't quite understand what you've become do you?"

"Excuse me?" Kobalt asked offended

"To put it simply, you shouldn't be alive. Everything I'm looking at now shouldn't be possible, yet apparently it is." She said "You are a miracle of science, a statistical impossibility, no person, human or Faunus should have survived the procedures that have clearly been done to you. I've theorized multiple ways to achieve such effects but they would be, problematic."

"You wanna maybe tell me exactly what's been done to me?" Kobalt asked, getting fed up

"Where would you like me to begin?" Dr. Cole asked "Your scan revealed quite a bit."

"Work your way to the top of the list I suppose." Kobalt suggested, figuring it would give him more time to process what he was about to find out.

"Well let's see, it's mostly minor changes but I count an improved immune and nervous system among the more complex ones. As well as an increase in protein synthetization, that one is quite interesting."

"Meaning?" Kobalt asked, he was essentially lost in all this science talk.

"Your senses are heighted beyond normal, you can't normally get sick, and your muscles won't tire out like most people when exerting yourself." She explained "Beyond that your muscle's density has been artificially increased, I know that wouldn't have been a pleasant experience. We've considered similar procedures for our own people, but implementation wouldn't be…healthy."

"Far from it," Kobalt said, the memories slowly coming back. "Anything more?"

"This is the last one, but well I'm not really sure how to explain it. How much do you know about Aura?" She asked

"Less than I should from the sounds of it." Kobalt shrugged

"Well in Atlas one of our scientists has been studying Aura and how it works. It's…complicated, but he believes he's discovered a sort of source in the body where Aura is generated. It always seems to start regenerating by the heart." Dr. Cole explained "In your case, there is an object in the exact spot my colleague describes, a sort of limiter if his theories are correct. It seems to be designed to slow your Aura's regeneration and possibly how much you generate."

"Kage told me you said at one point you started feeling weaker." Ozpin turned to Kobalt "Able to draw on less of your Aura and strength."

"You think the put that thing in me to keep me in check?" Kobalt asked "To keep me from using all the power they gave me?"

"They were beginning to fear you weren't they? You thought so yourself." Ozpin countered

"They were getting afraid I wouldn't need their help anymore. I'm not sure they were ever afraid of me." Kobalt sighed focusing back on Dr. Cole "Can you tell us anything else about it? Are you sure it's not just something keeping my heart beating?"

"I said by the heart not on the heart." She shook her head "Honestly, I can't tell much, Dr. Hadley would've been more use here. But if his notes are correct this device is a danger to your wellbeing."

"How so?" Ozpin asked

"According to him, if Aura is restricted in anyway it starts building up over time. And can become quite volatile. If I'm correct about what this is, then Mr. Kobalt essentially has a time bomb in his chest." Dr. Cole added "With no idea when it might go off. I highly advise you come here and undergo a surgery to have the limiter removed as soon as you can."

Kobalt almost instinctively said no, he had been through enough surgeries for one lifetime. The idea of going through another one was something he didn't even want to think about. Memories of lying half-conscious on an operating table still haunted him, and it was clear to Kobalt that Ozpin already knew what he was thinking. But the headmaster was likely to tell him he needed to do it anyway.

"Excuse me," Citrine said inserting herself "But just how complicated is this procedure, what exactly would have to be done to safely remove this limiter?"

"And you are?" Dr. Cole asked.

"Citrine Gareth, head of the medical office here. Currently Kobalt is our patient and a good friend of my daughter." She explained "I'd hate for him to have to go somewhere he doesn't know and be operated on by people he might not trust."

"Are you insinuating that he shouldn't trust me?" Dr. Cole asked

"I'm not insinuating anything, whether or not he trusts you is his own decision." Citrine said "However he trusts my daughter, and to that extend perhaps he can trust us here well enough to perform this operation. So I ask again, what is the procedure?"

"Very well. It shouldn't be too complicated, other than the proximity to his heart of course." Dr. Cole sighed "All you need to do is remove it from him without damaging it or his heart."

Citrine turned to Ash and raised an eyebrow.

"I see the spot she's talking about, I must've overlooked it as part of his skeletal structure." Ash said "I can get it, there seems to be some sort of support holding it in place under one of his ribs, once that's gone I can get it out."

"Are you sure, one hundred percent?" Ozpin asked

"In my line of work there is never a guarantee professor, but I'd put my odds at seventy percent." Ash told them

"Mr. Kobalt, you're being awfully quiet about this." Dr. Cole said

"You can imagine all the operations I've already had Doctor," Kobalt said "I was awake for more than a few of them, maybe you can understand my hesitation."

"You were awake?" Dr. Cole asked

"Thank you for your help Dr. Cole, I'll come to a decision in my own time." Kobalt said taking the scroll from Ozpin and ending the call. He walked out of the room and headed for the roof. He needed fresh air and a place to think, and in his entire time here Kobalt had never once seen anyone go to the roof. He'd been up there leaning against the railing for all of two minutes when he heard the door open behind him.

"I know Ozpin, I need the surgery, it's a matter of life and death, etcetera, etcetera." Kobalt said before even turning around.

"One of these days you're not going to assume I'm someone else." Nickole said walking up next to him.

"Nickole?" he asked, surprised. She was the last person he expected to see right now.

"Hey Blue." She said leaning on the railing next to him "We need to talk."

"That can't be good for me." Kobalt sighed

"I need to apologize, I've been a bit of a bad girlfriend recently." She said, leaving him stunned "Here we are at my house, and I haven't even introduced you to my parents yet."

"If it's any consolation I have met them." Kobalt said

"And I've been treating you like you're not even my friend, I was so frustrated when I found out the people who you were with were the ones who attacked my brother." She continued "When I saw that base, and heard from that man what they did, my heart sunk. How could I possibly hope to get justice for my brother against people like that? And when you came to stop me from going after them, all it did was give me a convenient outlet for my anger. I actually thought I really was mad at you."

"So wait, you're not mad at me?"

"No you idiot, after everything we've been through how can I be mad at you. You've had people experiment on you, put weird stuff in your body, and even mess with your Aura." She said "And despite all that you cared enough to come running after me when you woke up. Plus it was pretty sweet when you called me the most amazing girl you've ever met."

"You uh, you heard that?" Kobalt asked feeling his face turn the brightest red possible.

"My mom called me down just as you were getting in the scanner. She knew we hadn't been getting along and that I was blaming you." Nickole blushed "I think she knew you would say something like that and wanted me to hear it."

"So I take it Ozpin sent you up here to try and convince me to have the surgery?" Kobalt asked

"No one sent me up here Blue, like I said I owe you an apology. And that's all I came up here to do."

"You think I should have the surgery though don't you?" Kobalt asked

"Yeah, that Atlas scientist said you'd die without it didn't she?" Nickole asked "I don't know about you, but **I** like having you around, and I bet the rest of the team feels the same way."

"You're trying to guilt me into it aren't you?" Kobalt laughed

"Well maybe a little bit." Nickole smiled "Is it working?"

"Let's go back downstairs, they'll want to start prepping an operating room as soon as possible." Kobalt said

"Right now? Don't you want to wait a little while?" Nickole asked "You don't need to have a major surgery so quickly."

"I do, otherwise I might change my mind later."

It wasn't long before Kobalt was waiting on a gurney for them to wheel him into the operating room. After draining his Aura so they could operate they gave him a change of clothes and told him to wait. Apparently Ozpin had told them to start preparing after he had left and seen Nickole going after him. One thing was certain, this was a lot better than pre-op with Black Knight. Here he was in more comfortable clothes, he was lying on pads instead of steel, and he had company. Nickole had decided to wait with him while they finished prepping the room.

"So how are you holding up?" she asked grabbing his hand "Getting second thoughts?"

"I'm getting third and fourth thoughts at this point." He sighed "Too late to turn back now."

"You really don't like anything to do with surgery do you?" Nickole asked, he just looked at her like she said the sky was blue. "Yeah I know dumb question."

"Too many memories." Kobalt simply said

"Tristan said you were barely sleeping at night." Nickole almost whispered "Is that why?"

"Yeah. Ever since, well you know, something usually comes back each night. It's been the same one the past few." He told her "It might not always be bad, but the feeling of having my mind repaired isn't exactly fun."

"Kobalt I'm so sorry, I should've been there for you." she said squeezing his hand "I shouldn't have pushed you away right when everything started coming back to you."

"Its fine, all I cared about was that you weren't off chasing people out of your league." Kobalt told her "Besides we've barely been dating all that long, I think you earned the right to panic after everything that just happened."

"Still." Nickole said looking away

"Hey can I ask you something?" Kobalt started trying to change the subject "Did you dye your hair? Because your mother looks almost exactly like you, but…"

"But both her and my father have brown hair," she smiled "Yeah, **she** dyed it a few months before I left for Beacon it used to be as blonde as mine. Auburn's the one who was born with his hair, he even wanted a paternity test to make sure our dad actually was his."

"And?"

"He is undeniably my parent's son." She laughed "Still don't know how he got red hair though."

"Kobalt?" A nurse asked walking in "Were ready for you."

"Here we go." Kobalt said taking a deep breath

"I'm going to administer the anesthesia now." The nurse said approaching with the largest syringe he'd ever seen, or at least could remember seeing. Kobalt's eyes went wide at the mere sight of the thing, he would've backed up if he wasn't lying on a gurney.

"Maybe I should take care of that." Nickole said taking the syringe "He's got a bad history with doctors."

Needle in hand Nickole walked up to him and searched his arm for a vein. She gave his hand a quick squeeze before pushing the needle in.

"You're treating me like a scared kid." Kobalt chuckled

"I don't hear you complaining." Nickole smiled pushing down on the plunger.

"You'll be there when I wake up right?" Kobalt asked, already starting to fade.

"Of course," Nickole said kissing his forehead "You're going to be fine."

The next thing he knew, Kobalt was waking up in the same bed was in this morning. Nickole was with him, fast asleep resting her head on his arm, her hand clasping his. He rolled his head, it was later that he thought it would be, from the window he could see the sun setting. It must've been one hell of a long surgery. He rolled his head again, sitting in chairs across from the bed were Tristan and Justin, the former of which seemed to just be realizing Kobalt was awake. Before Tristan could say anything, Kobalt raised a finger to his lips to quiet him. Tristan just smiled, nodded, and relaxed back in his chair. Kobalt settled himself more comfortably and drifted back to sleep.

Author's Note

I've been editing this one since before chapter 17 came out and I'm still not sure about it. The entire point of it is to show just how far Black Knight went in changing Kobalt to make him who he is now. And to show just how strong he is, though that part is hard for me. That's because of just how annoying I find characters that are overly powerful and have no challenges. It's for that reason that I made Kobalt as strong as he is, because I wanted to make a story about someone powerful actually still has a story. Usually they just stomp whatever is in their path and that's that. But I wanted Kobalt's unusual strength to be a plot point; why is he this strong, what are the consequences of his strength, stuff like that. And while writing the reason why, I started hating how much it made him seem so over powered and wound up changing the chapter around three times. Honestly I wound up going with standard super soldier stuff because it felt more grounded than all the other stuff I had. And even still re-reading this chapter I not sure if I got it right. But it's probably as good as I can make it. And if you think I did even a decent job on it let me know. Hell if you think I buggered the whole thing let me know. And I mean that, I would gladly go back and re-write this chapter again if it can be done better.


	20. Chapter 20: Warming Up

With nothing else to distract him, Kobalt made good time getting to the town square, it was strange though. He had expected Grimm or animals, something. But there was nothing, not even signs of recent activity in the colony, the only sounds were the rain and his foot splashing in the puddles it left. When he reached the square he saw firsthand what a focused Grimm attack looked like. The whole area was decimated, craters littered the ground, buildings were in ruins, and barricades that had been put up and burned through all across the square. At the far end was the security station, its back to the ocean and walled off from the rest of the colony. Kobalt saw the ruins of gun emplacements and turrets along the sides of the building. And yet with the exception of barricades and a few turrets most of the building seemed intact. There had been Grimm big enough to collapse other buildings back where he started. So why was this building relatively intact? Kobalt didn't have time to wonder though, he wanted to finish this mission before any Grimm showed up to complicate things. He approached the door to the building when it slid open automatically and what few lights weren't destroyed came on.

"Greetings civilian." An automated voice spoke over a loud speaker. "If you are here to see a security representative the current wait time is, eighteen thousand hours, please take a number and wait in the lobby."

"Yeah, I don't see that happening." Kobalt laughed "I'm in, where's the footage held?"

"Security control room, top floor." The dispatcher told him

"On it."

Kobalt found the nearest set of stairs and started his way up, five floors later and he was blocked to the top floor by rubble. He turned around and went out the door to the fifth floor looking for a way up. The fifth floor as it turned out led him to the central gun encampment, where a rather large turret sat. The barrel might have been melted off but he could still tell how big it had once been. He took the gunner's position on the turret and looked around, this was but one of many turrets spread throughout the building. And many more of them were still perfectly intact, all with perfect coverage of the square. And the interior of the security building was barely damaged, most of the Grimm likely never made it past the front door.

"What the hell happened here?" Kobalt thought aloud.

"Is something the matter, Kobalt?" the Chairman tuned in

"This base, they could've held off just about anything from here. Grimm attacks bigger than what would break most villages." Kobalt said "This building's defenses are on par with a kingdoms, and the Grimm would've been funneled right into a kill box."

"And?"

"And the colonists should've been able to hold off more than long enough for a force from Vale or Atlas to get here." Kobalt added "But they didn't, they went running as fast as they could. It's like once the last civilians were gone the security forces hauled out behind them. Something's not right here."

"That's what we need you to find out." The Chairman reminded him.

"Of course, I'll keep looking." Kobalt told him turning back around "There's got to be another way in."

It didn't take him long to find, a little bit further down he found another door leading inside. It wasn't much longer afterwards that Kobalt found himself at the top floor, in front one of the many doorways leading into the control room. Unlike a lot of what he had seen so far though, this door was smashed in, like someone or something had forced its way inside. He raised his pistol as he entered the room, but was greeted with nothing. The only light was that of the main computer's monitor at the far side of the room. As little light as it was, it wound up being just enough to illuminate a good amount of the room. It was definitely an Atlas control room, large pillars held up its high ceiling cracked in a couple of places, multiple levels of desks and computers meant for the various personnel who worked there, and it was in shambles. Something had torn through here, scattering everything that wasn't nailed down and even a few things that were. All the lights were shattered leaving a huge portion of the room dark, Kobalt knew well enough that what he was seeing was just the tip of the iceberg. There was plenty more to this room that he couldn't see, the entire top floor of the building was the control room. And it was a large building.

"Found it," Kobalt spoke into the com as he climbed the series of steps to the main computer, "Moving to download the files now."

He approached the computer and inserted his hard drive into one of the slots. Immediately he began searching the computer for the most recent footage files, the amount of data here was incredible. If Atlas personnel weren't so organized it might've taken him hours to find the files. Instead it took him mere moments, and he went to copy the files to his hard drive. That was when he hit a roadblock.

"Chairman we've got a problem." Kobalt called out "Everything on here is encrypted, I can't even transfer it over without proper clearance."

"We should've expected that." The Chairman sighed "Change of plans, grab the main hard drive."

"Sir?"

"You heard me, were taking everything if we have to." Dusk told him

"Yes sir." Kobalt sighed bending down and taking the panel off the computer.

As he did thunder crashed outside and light flooded into the control room through a crack in the far side of the wall. It was brief, but it was long enough for Kobalt to see a shadow being cast over him. He spun on his heels and brought up his pistol just in time to see a pair of red eyes slide back into the shadows by the doorway he had come in. He blocked out the noise of the rain long enough to hear quiet breathing. He cursed himself for not clearing the room when he came in, he was probably surrounded now, and he couldn't see a damn thing.

 _The motion sensor!_ It hit him out suddenly, _I'm indoors, the rain won't mess with it._

He booted up the motion sensor on his HUD only to see it crawling with red dots, he was more than just surrounded. He was about to be overwhelmed.

"Well damn," he sighed standing up and drawing his sword "Looks like things are finally getting interesting."

Kobalt brought his arm up to block the mace that came crashing down on top of him, condensing the Aura around it as he did. Midori had him training against two Gareth soldiers without his sword. He told Kobalt to fight using only his semblance, but without ending the fight in one attack at the same time. Kobalt dodged back as a spear thrust towards him from the side. Both of these soldiers were well trained, almost as well as some students at Beacon. He charged two bolts of energy in his hands and sent them at the two men now standing side by side in front of him. Both of them raised their arms to cover their faces as the bolts flew in, using the distraction Kobalt rushed in charging energy and swept their legs out from under them with quick kick. Coming out of the kick he directed the energy to his hands and released them in a wave pushing both men down to the ground and knocking them out.

"Was this really necessary professor?" Kobalt asked turning to see his professor watching from a short distance.

"Yes, I need to gauge your control of your semblance before I can start helping you master it." Midori said walking up to him "Besides, I need to make sure your back to normal first too."

"Professor **_I_** don't even know what normal is for me. How could you?" Kobalt pointed out. "If you want to know whether or not I'm physically healthy again then the answer is yes."

"I suppose that will have to do for now, won't it?" Midori sighed "Fine, moving on let's start on…"

"Kobalt!" Nickole shouted for him in the distance. He turned to see her running towards him from the manor. "We've got a problem."

"What kind of problem?" Midori asked "Something about Black Knight?"

"Not like that," Nickole said ignoring Midori and turning back to Kobalt " _We've_ got a problem, you and me Kobalt."

"What's wrong?" Kobalt asked, things had just started getting better between him and Nickole the last thing he wanted was for things to go south again.

"It's my father," Nickole said grabbing his hand and pulling him along. "Apparently when I was born he decided he wasn't going to let just any boy date me."

"Are you're kidding me?" Kobalt asked "I need his approval first?"

"Not exactly." Nickole said, Kobalt could hear the frustration in her voice. She clearly wasn't happy about this whole thing, but it seemed like more than that. Nickole brought him inside to a part of the manor he hadn't been to yet. Just as she was about to open a set of doors her mother opened them from the other side.

"Ah Kobalt, I was just coming to see you." Citrine said reaching into her pocket "Our team just finished analyzing this, and seeing as we pulled it out of you, I figure you should decide what else to do with it."

She handed him a small sphere, looking at it closely Kobalt could make out ridges and holes in it. It was no bigger than a small game piece, yet it felt heavy.

"This is the limiter isn't it?" Kobalt asked

"Yeah, our techs wanted to see what it's made of and how it works." Citrine nodded "They didn't get far, but we have enough scans to recreate it."

Without hesitating Kobalt disintegrated the limiter with a small burst of energy, leaving nothing, not even ashes behind. After everything Black Knight had done to him, it felt good to finally undo some of it. Somewhere deep down he had been feeling an urge to obliterate Black Knight, even though he knew he couldn't. Destroying the limiter was the closest he had gotten, and the part of him that wanted it gone was ecstatic.

"That felt better than it should have." Kobalt said out loud, he felt Nickole squeezing his hand bringing him back to reality.

"You're on your way to see Faron aren't you?" Citrine asked "Do me a favor, if he starts getting up on his high horse, knock him off of it."

"Excuse me?" Kobalt asked

"You'll find out." Citrine hummed with a wink before walking away.

"Nickole don't take this the wrong way," Kobalt started "But your family is weird."

"Give it time, they'll grow on you." Nickole said approaching the doors

"I hope so." Kobalt said walking through. Standing on the other side of what looked like a classical dojo was Nickole's father in what must have been his Huntsman clothes. He wore brown robes over silver armor, and had on a pair of metal tabi.

"Ah good, I was about to send someone to come get you." Faron Gareth said "Thanks for bringing him Nickole."

"I overheard you talking to Auburn earlier, I can't believe you're really doing this." Nickole told him, sounding incredibly irritated.

"Doing what?" Kobalt asked "Would someone tell me what's going on."

"Yes well, as you can imagine Kobalt, I'm very protective of my daughter." Faron started "And I'm not just going to let any boy see her the way you are without passing certain tests."

"What she doesn't get a say in this?" Kobalt asked "Fine, what kind of test did you have in mind?"

Kobalt watched in awe as Faron Gareth swept his arm back trailing a black smoke with it. As the smoke built up, it seemed as if he was pulling something out of it. A moment later a large black pole coated by the smoke was in his hands.

"Draw your sword Kobalt." Faron ordered

"So it's that kind of test, what would you have done if I wasn't a fighter?" Kobalt asked taking up his blade in both hands. "I can't imagine you plan on going all out, that just wouldn't be fair."

"We'll just have to see about that won't we?" Faron smiled.

Before he could react Faron was on him, thrusting his weapon towards Kobalt's head. Kobalt caught the sight of a razor edge at the tip the pole and ducked his head out of the way just as the spearhead passed where it was not a moment before. Faron's speed was incredible, Kobalt hadn't even seen him move. For the first time Kobalt could remember, he was forced onto the defensive in a duel. Faron was attacking fast and wild, using the spear more as a staff than anything, it was just about all Kobalt could do to defend against each attack. The hard truth was this man had years of experience as a Huntsman, whereas Kobalt had nothing but his training in Black Knight. Most of which he couldn't remember.

 _Focus you idiot._ He told himself _Think! You've fought plenty of tough people before, you can do this. Find a way to level the playing field._

That's when it hit Kobalt, for the first time in years he had full access to his Aura. He concentrated, trying to unleash his Aura from the source. He began to tap into it, and reflexively sent it coursing throughout his body. He felt himself surge with power, and he pushed back on the very next hit. Faron didn't hide his surprise at being forced away when Kobalt turned the tables. Both hands on his sword Kobalt dashed forward, slicing upwards as he neared Faron. What should have been an ending blow on anyone else was blocked when Faron rotated the spear barely catching Kobalt's blade. Kobalt spun, trying to bring his sword down on top of Faron, but the Huntsman met the attack with his spear again. This was going to be rough, Faron's defense with that spear was impressive. And he could keep Kobalt at a range with it, plus unlike Justin Faron was incredibly fast. Kobalt jumped back and shifted to a defensive stance, it felt off like a stiff muscle, but he didn't like his odds in this fight without a plan. Before he could even begin to think of one, Faron rushed forward, laying him out with a single strike. It was all Kobalt could do to get back up again, even with his Aura still up that attack hurt.

"Take all the time you want." Faron said settling into a relaxed stance with his spear. "I know you clearly care about Nickole, so I'll break the rules and give you as many chances as you want."

Kobalt breathed a sigh of relief, and saw Nickole doing the same over to side of the room.

 _Wait, chances?_ Kobalt thought. _For what?_

"However, until you pass my test, I forbid you from seeing my daughter." Faron stated as Kobalt got back to his feet.

"What?" Kobalt shouted

"Excuse me?!" Nickole shouted over him "Just what do you think you're doing dad? You can't choose who I date!"

"I'm your father, and as long as you live under my roof…" Faron started

"Oh don't pull that crap on me, I will date whoever I want. Do you really think you have any say in that?" Nickole asked her father "Come on Kobalt, were done here."

"No." Kobalt said taking a fighting stance as he brought himself back to his feet.

"What?" Nickole asked "You don't have to this, I don't care if my father approves."

"I do, I don't remember my parents, but I'm sure if I told them everything you've done for me they'd accept you even if you were a psychopath." Kobalt told her "And if your dad can't do the same for me, then I'm going to listen to your mother's advice and knock him off his high horse."

"Is that so?" Faron asked, shifting his stance lower "Are you done holding back?"

"Not sure, should we find out?" Kobalt asked

"Kobalt?" Nickole asked him "What's going on."

"Your father is an excellent judge of skill." Kobalt told her

"You've been holding back this whole time?!" She yelled at him

"Cut me some slack, I'm just getting back to normal."

"Unbelievable." Nickole sighed

 _Right, focus, you've got plenty of power left to draw on._ Kobalt told himself, _now's the time to see what you can do with no limiter holding you back._

Tapping into his Aura again, Kobalt poured an even larger amount of it through his body, he felt it burn inside him and burst to the surface coating parts of his body in blue flame. His muscles felt like that had been strengthened tenfold, meanwhile his Aura meter had barely dropped further, before something like this would've burned through it. Kobalt noted a look of surprise on both Faron's and Nickole's faces, and would've shown one on his own if his helmet hadn't been on.

Kobalt charged in, moving like a flash of light as he closed the gap between him and Faron. He spun, bringing his sword around to Faron's right side. Faron barely managed to raise his spear in time to block the attack, but the force of the blow staggered him, leaving an opening available to Kobalt. He spun back around, striking with a roundhouse kick to Faron's face. He landed and brought his blade up slicing across Faron's chest. Kobalt launched a new wave of attacks, hacking at Faron with his sword in both hands. Faron was quick to react, focusing his entire effort on defense. Kobalt pressed on, not wanting to give him a chance to counter, he thrust his sword in between Faron's arms and pulled it back while shoving his shoulder into Faron. The spear went flying out of his hands and dissipated in the air. Kobalt stepped back, allowing Faron a chance to rearm himself. Not a moment later another shadowy spear materialized in his hands, and he lowered himself into a new stance. When Faron charged in, Kobalt stepped off to the side, narrowly dodging the attack. He slashed out as Faron passed by, barely catching his shoulder with the attack. Faron turned around as Kobalt came in with another wave of attacks, this time fighting back instead of just blocking. As Kobalt brought his sword down, Faron was bringing his spear from the side. Kobalt dropped one hand to grab the spear before it hit, and Faron did the same with Kobalt's sword. Now locked in place, neither of them seemed to be giving in, in fact Faron was trying to push Kobalt back. As Kobalt prepared to do the same, he felt his grip on the spear slip, he looked down for a split second to see the spear disappearing again. This time a blade attached to Faron's forearm grew from the shadows. With his sword already locked up with Faron's other hand, Kobalt did the only thing he could think of, he drew his pistol. Before Faron could stab him with his new blade, Kobalt slid his hand to his hip and quickly fired off a few rounds the second he brought up the pistol. The rounds bounced off Faron's Aura but stunned him long enough for Kobalt to free his sword and disengage.

"So this is you all out is it?" Faron asked, the blade on his arm fading.

"Not sure, I can't remember what going all out is like." Kobalt grinned

"I see, well then let's see just how much you can take." Faron said raising his arms. As he lowered them he drew a large dark bow from the shadows, an arrow of smoke already drawn. But the arrow was larger than any arrow should be allowed to be. It was like the spear Faron had been using not a moment before, and Kobalt was starting to get worried about this.

"Dad you can't be serious?" Nickole asked "We're indoors!"

That scared the hell out of Kobalt, just what kind of attack was this? He didn't waste time trying to ask, Kobalt sheathed his sword and put his left hand on his right arm, channeling large amounts of his Aura into a shield in front of him. He poured even more Aura than he had drawn on earlier into it, not a second later Faron loosed the arrow and Kobalt felt the impact through the shield and his Aura. The second the arrow impacted on the shield Kobalt view was obscured by an explosion of smoke and shadow and he felt the shield start to fail, he poured more of his Aura into it as the force kept pushing on him. When it cleared he found himself standing at the edge of a small crater, he looked up to see a rather surprised Faron Gareth looking at him.

"Not bad, let's see how you handle two in a row." Faron said drawing the bow back again. Before he could draw it fully, Kobalt dashed forward charging in. He reached out with one hand and grabbed Nickole's shield with a strand of energy. He brought the shield up in time to block a half drawn arrow and drew his sword, slashing down on the bow, cleaving it in two.

"I think were done here." Kobalt said gasping for air, the Aura bar in his helmet was down to a third, he didn't even want to think about what would've happened if that arrow had hit him. Or if he had done this a few days ago.

"I must say I'm pleasantly surprised." Faron smiled "I knew you were strong but I never thought you'd be able to make a shield that could withstand that."

"So let me get this straight," Nickole started as she walked over to them "You just shot at my boyfriend, and you didn't think he'd be able to take it!?"

"Well I…" Faron never finished his explanation, Nickole socked him right in the jaw as he spoke.

"Come on Kobalt we're leaving." Nickole said grabbing his arm and walking towards the exit.

"Where do you think you're going young lady?" Faron asked, rubbing his jaw.

Kobalt had never thought of Nickole as a scary kind of person, but when he saw the look she flashed her father even he was terrified of her.

"I'm going to spend time relaxing with my boyfriend, something I haven't really gotten to do in a while." She told her father "And if you've got a problem with that why don't you shoot another one of those arrows."

Nickole led Kobalt through the house to a small courtyard in the center of the estate, dotting the yard were islands of flowers and rosebushes, with a small pond in the center. Standing next to the pond was a lone small tree, its leaves turned a crisp orange. Kobalt had nearly forgotten it was getting to be fall now, he had been at Beacon for only a few months, but it felt like much longer.

"I love this place," Nickole said "I used to come here every day when I was little."

"Reminds me of the gardens back at Beacon." Kobalt said

"You mean like the one I chased Tristan around?" Nickole asked sitting down next to the pond.

"Yeah, he really should have stayed invisible." Kobalt laughed sitting down next to her "For his own sake."

"His sake? What out ours dummy? We were having a moment." She said smacking him in the back of the head, "Now are you going to leave that thing on all day?"

"I still have my helmet on don't I?" Kobalt asked reaching his hands up to take his it off, he set it down next to him and took a breath of fresh air.

"Sorry about all that." Nickole sighed leaning on his shoulder "My dad is kind of an idiot."

"It's fine, I'm sure he means well." Kobalt told her as he started zoning out a little.

"Hey you okay?" Nickole asked him, Kobalt noticed he was staring at his helmet on the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He told her, already getting a feeling where this was going "Why?"

"It's just with all this Black Knight stuff, and your surgery…" Nickole stammered "It'd be normal for you to not be is all I'm saying."

"Nickole relax, I'm okay." Kobalt insisted

"Are you still having nightmares about Black Knight?" she asked him, he looked down at the water in front of them. The reflection of his face in the water did little to hide the truth.

"I knew it, I can hear you from my room some nights." Nickole said sitting up and turning serious "Did you forget I'm right next door?"

"No, I'm sorry it's just…" Kobalt hesitated

"It's just what? Kobalt, it's okay, you can talk to me." Nickole said taking his hand in hers.

"It's not exactly stuff I want to talk about, there are things I wish I wasn't remembering." He admitted "Talking about it won't help any."

"You sure? Because you're starting to worry me a little." Nickole told him

"Sorry, you the last person I want to worry." Kobalt said

"So earlier, you mentioned you didn't remember your parents?" Nickole asked "Do you remember anything other than Black Knight."

"Bad memories always outweigh the good ones." Kobalt sighed "And I've got a lot of bad memories to sift through."

They sat in silence for a moment after that until Nickole kissed him on the cheek and stood up.

"Come on." She said offering him a hand up "Let's go."

"Go where?" Kobalt asked confused

"Wherever the winds take us." Nickole smiled "Let's go make some better memories."


	21. Chapter 21: The Gareths

Nickole rolled over in bed as her alarm continued to go off on her nightstand, she'd been lying there listening to it for way too long. And as tempted as she was to stay in bed, she knew she had to get moving. Getting up in the morning had gotten harder than ever before since things calmed down. The beds at Beacon were far from uncomfortable, but Nickole hadn't even remotely realized how much she missed her own bed. And as she rolled over she had to fight the urge to close her eyes and go back to sleep, too bad it wasn't a Tuesday. Instead she pushed herself out of bed and changed into a tank top and sweatpants, she didn't see the point in getting fully dressed for breakfast. She quickly pulled her hair back into a ponytail and took a quick look in the mirror. That was when Nickole noticed for the first time how much longer her hair had grown since she left for Beacon. It was a wonder she hadn't before, but somehow she had missed the fact that her hair was significantly longer than ever before. She must've been really absent minded to have missed it for this long.

 _Of course you were,_ she chided herself as she opened her door _. Think about everything that's happened the last few months._

It had been absolutely crazy, going to Beacon was nothing like what she thought it would've been. Of course there had been a very particular reason for that, and he was waiting in the hall outside.

"Morning." Kobalt smiled as she stepped outside. Like her, he hadn't bothered dressing fully this morning. Instead he had thrown on shorts and a t shirt lent to him by her family. "Sleep well?"

"Coulda slept all day, I missed that bed." Nickole yawned with a stretch, "You?"

Kobalt briefly raised an eyebrow and Nickole nearly kicked herself before he quickly changed the subject. Of course he hadn't slept well, he had memories coming back in his sleep.

"Come on let's go get something to eat." Kobalt said letting her lead him to the dining room.

Dining room would've been a poor term though, mess hall would've been better. At Beacon Nickole had gotten a taste for a better form of cafeteria food, but back home unless you finished training you ate the same food as everyone else. And the hall itself looked right at home in the Gareth estate, light grey walls and tables with only one side of the hall having windows. And of course the fact that everyone there but KNGT was wearing basically the same outfit didn't help, and it definitely helped reinforce how militant her family could be. Everyone was dressed like Kobalt was now, grey shorts and a shirt, practically uniform. Which meant it was easy to pick out Tristan and Justin, both of whom had some color on. Together Nickole and Kobalt grabbed a few bagels, some juice, and joined their friends at their own table.

"Morning," Tristan welcomed as he nibbled on what was left of his own food "You two are up awfully late, you guys weren't…"

"Tristan," Nickole cut him off "Just cause you're my friend doesn't mean won't I won't kick your ass for making jokes like that."

"Actually I think it makes you more likely than anything." Kobalt added "And you'll be glad it's her and not me doing it."

"Alright message received no more of those ones." Tristan folded "What about jokes about your family, cause I'm not gonna lie this is kind of weird. We in Atlas or something?"

"Yeah sorry, only the higher ups get their own kitchen and all." Nickole said "Trainees and squad leaders eat here. And yeah, it's weird."

"It's not that bad." Kobalt shrugged "Kinda what I'm used to honestly, though I used to sit by myself back in the day. None of Black Knight's soldiers would sit with me after the found out who I was."

"Well looks that that's about to change." Tristan noted pointing behind, before Nickole could follow it she saw a large pair of arms wrap around Kobalt's neck putting him in a headlock. It was one of her many cousins, Gains. One of the soldiers just shy of being good enough to be a Huntsman. To his credit he took it with stride, years after being told he couldn't attend an academy he had thrown himself into training. But he also had some pretty skewed views on how tough Huntsmen really were.

"Didn't anyone tell you cuz?" the man asked Kobalt "Recruits like you don't sit with the specialists."

"Gains let him go." Nickole ordered "He's not…"

"Don't worry about it Nickole, just tryin to show the kid the ropes." Gains added turning his attention back to Kobalt "I don't think we've met, name's Gainsboro, and you?"

"Kobalt." He answered, bringing a single hand up and grabbing on to Gains' arm. Nickole saw his grip tighten as he casually removed the arm from around his neck, Gains looked almost mortified by the fact that someone was over powering him.

"Gains he's not part of the family." Nickole told him "He's my team leader, from Beacon."

"A Huntsman? Isn't he the one who fought your…" Gains started his face getting pale.

"Father, yeah that was nice little warm up." Kobalt added letting got go of his arm.

"Sorry sir, I assumed with the clothes and all…" Gains started stammering. Due to his failure, Gains had somehow gotten it into his head the Huntsmen were invincible.

"What was your name again?" Kobalt asked

"G-Gainsboro."

"Good, I'll remember that." Kobalt added, his face dead serious. Gains, who was usually full of bravado was falling apart, and as funny as it was he was a squad leader. He needed to get his act together.

"Hey, Blue." Nickole said nudging her boyfriend.

"Yeah?" he asked turning back to her as she raised a hand and flicked his forehead.

"Be nice to my family." She told him "They're not all like my dad."

"What I can't have a little fun?" Kobalt smiled turning back to Gains and extending his hand "Sorry about that man couldn't resist."

"You never can." Tristan sighed "First me now this poor guy? Come on man."

"Its fine, I guess I deserved it for making the assumption." Gains said shaking Kobalt's hand. He was still pretty pale, though.

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Kobalt laughed "What are the odds you were wrong? I can't imagine people from outside your family come here often."

"Usually it's only when they're about to become family." Nickole told him

"Jeez put the pressure on will ya?" Kobalt chuckled awkwardly, turning back to his food. "We should finish up here, got a lot of work to do today."

"Speak for yourself, my parents are both insisting I spend some time with them." Nickole complained "Compared to training which would you rather do?"

"Parents." Kobalt said in a heartbeat

"Well you don't know yours, so that doesn't count." Nickole sighed

"They can't be that bad." Tristan shook his head

"Well let's see, my dad is an overprotective Huntsman who would've locked me in my room for life if I couldn't fight." She started "And my mother is incorrigible gossip, flirt, and busy body.

"Sounds like normal parents to me." Justin shrugged

"Oh and I now have a boyfriend." Nickole added, briefly grabbing Kobalt's hand and raising it up.

"Hello." he laughed as he munched on his breakfast.

"So how do you think my day will go?" she asked "Cause the last time Kobalt was brought up in conversation was for my dad's little test."

"Okay, maybe it won't be that great." Tristan caved "but would you really rather be running drills with the rest of us?"

"Yes." Nickole insisted "But it doesn't matter anyone, my sword needs to be cleaned out and repaired, I kinda forgot to do that at school."

"Then I wish you the best of luck." Tristan added raising a glass of juice

"If you need anything give me call." Kobalt told her

"Thanks, I will almost definitely take you up on that." She said giving him a peck on the cheek.

"So what's your plan for the day?" Nickole asked Kobalt as they walked back to their rooms to change

"I need to start doing some real training," he told her "Between my memories and that fight with your dad I'm starting to realize how out of shape I am."

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked confused "You're plenty strong, more than most people I know."

"I used to be better, losing my memories really screwed me up." Kobalt sighed "Compared to what I used to be like my swordsmanship is sloppy and my energy control is pathetic. I think only remembered the basics."

"That's scary, I don't think I can imagine what that must be like." Nickole added "What did you have in mind? The guys can't help you much, you're past them already."

"Actually I was thinking your dad might be able to help me out." Kobalt added "He's definitely the strongest person I've fought, at least that I can remember."

"After that fight he might take that as a compliment." Nickole laughed walking into her room to change.

She walked out not long after wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, if she had to spend the better part of her day with her parents she might as well be comfortable. Nickole took her time walking to the other end of the manor to her parent's flat, the entirety of the west wing was for the senior members of the family. Members who ran something for the family or handled missions the rest couldn't. Usually that meant those who had trained as Huntsmen or had specialized in some way. Nickole would have her own room here one day, with the very elite of her family. Among them her father currently held the position of chief operator, the best warrior in the family. Her mother, being from outside the family, had done well for herself as well. She had all but revolutionized the medical facilities and procedures, and helped teach members who planned on pursuing a career in medicine. Then there was her brother, Auburn. There was a time when he once rivaled their father, he had been gifted in combat since he could raise a shield. Now he managed operations for the family and other Huntsmen, as well as analyzed intel and predicted potential trends in criminal activity. It was a shame though, Nickole could remember a time when everyone looked up to her brother as a fighter. Now all most people saw was a reminder of the greatest insult the Gareths had suffered in the last eighty years. The fact that one of their own had been attacked inside the manor itself had enraged almost the entire family to the point of violence. And part of Nickole was ashamed that she was sometimes among them. Even if she was upset that her own brother was crippled she often forgot how he must feel. All these thoughts spun through her head as she reached the west wing and found herself standing not in front of her parent's door, but her brother's.

"Auburn?" she asked as she knocked "You in there?"

"Yea come on in." her brother's muffled voice called out.

Nickole opened the door to be greeted with almost complete darkness, save for the glow of the monitors there was absolutely no light in the flat. Auburn's silhouette moved slightly in front of them as he continued working without pause.

"Hey Auburn," Nickole started as she entered the room "Have you ever heard of natural light?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, eyes not leaving the screens in front of him.

"I'm talking about this." Nickole sighed as she walked over to his windows and raised one of the shades. Bright light poured into the room as Auburn recoiled away from it and Nickole opened shade after shade to let more in. As she did she started to realize how much of a mess her brother's flat was. Clothes were scattered across the small room Auburn had turned into an office of sorts, the floor was mostly covered in dirty laundry. His couch might've been the only clean thing there, but the coffee table in front of it was covered in what seemed to be take out packages. He'd been ordering food to his room? It didn't make any sense, he had a kitchen with his choice of stock that was filled regularly. Of course one look into the other room told her why, or rather one smell. It reeked of spoiled, well spoiled everything. She didn't even want to imagine what his bedroom looked like right now.

"Jeez, what time is it?" Auburn asked as he lowered his hands and his eyes adjusted to the light. "Sun shouldn't be coming through that way till tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow? Auburn it's barely eleven." Nickole told him as she turned to face him. That was when she noticed how much Auburn had changed over the past few weeks. His hair had grown out even further and he had the start of a bright red beard growing unevenly on his face. His eyes were bloodshot, and his glasses looked like they hadn't been cleaned since the room had.

"When was the last time you left this room?" Nickole asked him

"I don't know, what day is it?" he asked her

"Wednesday." She told him shaking her head in disbelief.

"No, number day." Auburn shook his head.

"For the love of the winds Auburn. From someone who usually comes to you for advice, please, take mine." Nickole nearly yelled, "Get out of this room and go outside."

"I can't I've got work to do." He said shifting back to his computer. "Lot of activity going on right now, need to get more Huntsmen on it."

"Auburn, look at me." Nickole ordered wheeling his chair around and looking him dead in the eye. "What's going on?

Auburn just sighed as he rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath he looked back at her with what was probably the most tired expression Nickole had ever seen.

"Ever since you came back with that data I've been trying to figure out what I can about this Black Knight group." He told her "You know dad wants to go after them, and Ozpin has a few Huntsmen looking into things."

"And you?"

"I've been pooling intel, sending out recon teams, looking for whatever I can find." He continued

"No I meant what's going on with you." she corrected "You've always been one to keep yourself busy, but this?"

She motioned to the state of the flat.

"This is nuts, you can't go on like this. Not when you lectured me for not putting my laundry away as a kid." she added "It's not like you, what's wrong?"

"It's just, these are the people who attacked me." he sighed "It's been tough, we know more about them than ever before and I'm stuck here, watching others go after them."

"It's never bothered you before." Nickole mentioned

"That's because there was nothing I could do before." He confessed "We had nothing, no clue who or why or even how. They just blasted through a wall before anyone knew what was happening."

"And then they disappeared I know, I was there." she reminded him "But that doesn't explain why you wouldn't want to start looking as soon as you got back up."

"I did want to, but by the time I was out of the infirmary dad had already spent a week looking. And he got nothing, after that I figured there was no point and moved on."

"You mean you tried to." Nickole corrected "You're more driven than any of us."

"Not anymore." Auburn sighed "I think that part of me never got up from that rubble, I think it latched on to you instead."

Nickole couldn't help but smile when he said that, she stood up and grabbed onto the back of his wheelchair.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she started pushing him.

"Come on, you need a haircut." She told him as she wheeled him into the bathroom. She reached into a drawer and pulled out a razor and shave cream. "Here, you handle that mess and I'll get the rest."

"I can handle it all." Auburn protested as she reached for a pair of scissors.

"Oh please, you've had months to cut your hair since I left." She argued already cutting off a huge chunk of hair. "If you haven't held up your end of the deal then I'm assuming you can't."

At that Auburn started bursting out in laughter, Nickole hadn't heard him laugh like that in ages. A genuine, almost hysterical laugh, brought on by something so simple it cracked him up.

"I can't believe you remember **that** part of the conversation." He said wiping a tear from his eye "Remember how you used to keep your hair in that ridiculous bun?"

"Keep talking and that's what you're getting." Nickole threatened

"And I thought I'd grown my hair out." Auburn added "It looks good by the way."

"Thanks, I kind of like it."

After a short time Nickole managed to get her brother's hair back to the blazed up style he used to have ages ago. And after a nearly ordering him to get out of his room and get some fresh air she walked further down the hall to her parents' flat. Still though, she was worried about him. For the first time in her life her big brother wasn't doing well, even after being attacked he managed to stay like himself. But now that he knew who and why, it was clear to her that it was doing more to him then he was letting on. Maybe with some help he'd start feeling better, but she had no idea what she could do. It was still on her mind when she knocked on her parent's door and was ushered in by her mother, who was just so excited to have her little girl over like old times. Nickole barely registered her mother going on and on about it had been ages since Nickole had even set foot in their flat, and her father reminding her about the family's traditions. She zoned back in just in time to realize the two of them had asked her what she thought.

"Personally I think it was good to get some distance early on." Nickole admitted with a shrug.

"Fair enough I suppose, your mother is quite the handful." Her father laughed

"If that helps you sleep at night dad, then I won't shatter your perception of the truth." Nickole retorted to her mother's delight.

"That's my girl, hopefully your baby brother got my wits the same as you." Citrine smiled

"Speaking of which, where is Lian?" Nickole asked "He's still living with you two right?"

"Yes of course, he hasn't come of age yet." Her father confirmed "He's away in Vale right now with my brother. I thought he deserved a break."

"He's with Uncle Wheatley?" Nickole asked "How is that a break?"

"Because I told my little brother that if he gets Aurelian in any trouble," Faron added with a smile "I will personally and publically kick his ass from one end of Vale to the other."

"Geez, you can really feel the love in this family." Nickole shook her head.

"Oh please, you should've seen my father's relationship with his brother." Her mother laughed "That would make your father seem like a kind brother. In fact there was one time…"

"I don't even want to know." Nickole cut her off

"Well if you don't want to hear more of our stories why don't you tell us a few of your own?" Her mother suggested "I've barely heard a thing about your time at Beacon."

"Not really all that much to tell." Nickole shifted in her seat, "Why do you even want to hear about Beacon anyway?"

"Because all I've heard from you has been either the tiny bits you tell me about Kobalt, or this Black Knight stuff." She countered "You must have a few stories worth telling, like how you started dating."

"Not really." Nickole lied, she knew if she told her mother even a little about the things that had happened she'd spin the whole thing into some sappy love story. It might not even be that hard, in hindsight she had spent most of her time with Kobalt. And gotten to know him better than the rest of her friends.

"Well if she won't tell us anything then how about I regale her with my adventures the past few months?" her father chimed back in.

"Oh winds no." Nickole shuttered, when her father got going he was worse than Professor Port. An absolutely horrendous storyteller.

"So a few weeks ago I was hunting down a flock of Griffons outside this small village east of Vale." He started as Nickole and her mother shot each other pained looks. But while her mother had grown accustom to these stories Nickole still couldn't stand them. Quietly as she could, she slid her scroll out of her pocket and started sending a message to Kobalt. Knowing her dad he would be too engrossed in his story to notice.

Hey I need a favor. As soon as you can I need you to come to my parents' flat and ask my dad to help you train. I don't know how long I can take this.

"So it turns out the Griffons weren't even the Grimm that had been attacking the village, so naturally I go back and wait to see what is." Her father continued not breaking stride

"Naturally." Both Nickole and her mom echoed rolling their eyes. It was his job, of course he want back. Besides he'd been talking for all of a minute, at least Port built up to the major part of the story a bit more.

"So there I was sitting in a dumpster waiting for hours, when all of a sudden, whoosh, something shoots past me. I've only seen a few things move this fast so I know it's either a wyvern or varanus." Faron kept going "Whichever it is I'm not wasting any time as I jump out, readying an arrow large enough to kill either of them. And just before I loose my arrow, the damn thing turns around thinking it has a chance. I'd like to say I knew which it was, but I didn't even get a clear…."

He was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door, and Nickole had never been more grateful in her life. Faron walked over and opened the door to Kobalt, who could not possibly have been a more welcome sight.

"Kobalt?" Nickole's father asked "I'm sorry but if you're here for Nickole were having a family moment right now."

"Actually I'm not," Kobalt said looking almost embarrassed "I was coming to see you, I was hoping you'd be willing to help me train."

"Excuse me?" Faron asked

"Well my team can't exactly help me improve much, and Professor Midori is the one trying to get them stronger. So that leaves me on my own." Kobalt told him "If I'm going to get back to what I used to be like then I need someone to train with. And you're definitely the most skilled person I can remember fighting."

"Is that so?" Nickole's father asked, his eyes lighting up briefly "Just training or would you like another duel?"

"Just training is fine," Kobalt answered "Weapons only if that's okay. I need to get my sword skills back up to speed."

"Alright deal, but you're in my debt for leaving a family moment for this." Faron agreed

"Fair enough." Kobalt nodded "I'll see you later Nickole."

"See ya Blue." Nickole waved goodbye, mouthing 'thank you' behind her father's back as they left.

"Well he certainly is cute." Her mother commented once the door was shut.

"That didn't take long at all." Nickole sighed

"What?" Citrine asked "I thought you'd be glad I like him."

"You barely know him." Nickole pointed out "You've had a single conversation with him."

"And I found him to be quite the gentleman." She added "And frankly I think your father likes him too."

"You think so?" Nickole asked

"He just agreed to train with the boy. When was the last time you heard of your father training with anyone other than Auburn?"

"Never." Nickole admitted, her thoughts being brought back to her brother as he was mentioned. She remembered watching Auburn training with her father, it was like watching the world's deadliest dance. Back then she could never tell which one held the advantage until the duel was over and one of them was on the floor.

"Hey, something wrong sweetie?" her mother asked bringing her attention back in. "You've been zoning out since you got here."

"I stopped by Auburn's room on my way here." Nickole confided in her mom "I don't think he's doing okay."

Citrine pursed her lips as she stood up and poured cups of tea for the two of them, maybe she had seen him earlier herself.

"I've been thinking the same thing." she said, handing Nickole her cup of tea. "I think the only reason he moved on as well as he did was because he didn't know who or why."

"But now he does, and not being able to do anything is killing him." Nickole added "And watching it happen is killing me."

"I know, it breaks my heart every time I see him rolling through the halls in that wheelchair." Her mother admitted "But now, I can't even imagine what he must be going through."

"Isn't there something we can do to help him?" Nickole asked

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but there's got to be something…" Nickole faltered as something popped into her head "Wait…do you have any friends from med school in Atlas?"

"A few, where do you think we get most of our medical tech. Why?" her mother raised an eyebrow

"Just a thought, it'd be Auburn's choice of course." Nickole said "But there might be someone there who could help him."

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about that back when we found out how bad his legs were." Citrine admitted, clearly starting to understand what Nickole was implying "But I knew he wouldn't agree to it."

"He will now, mom being in that chair will kill him." Nickole said "We have to do something. Winds know dad can't think of anything to do."

"Alright, I'll make a few calls, see what I can do."

"Thanks mom, you're the best." Nickole breathed a sigh of relief.

"Of course I am." She smiled "Now, let's talk about this boyfriend of yours."

"Oh no."

"Well it's like you said, I barely know anything about him." Her mother smiled "So now, you'll tell me everything."

Walking out of her parent's room hours later, Nickole swore she'd never, ever, have a conversation like that again. It had mostly turned into her brief conversation with JADE the day she and Kobalt started dating. Only it lasted for the rest of the afternoon, and included significantly more prodding than she could've imagined. Now that she was finally done with all that she wanted nothing more than to grab her sword and relax with some training. Unfortunately it was still being cleaned, so she settled for the obstacle course instead. She armored up and stepped out into the crisp evening air. Hoping Kobalt might be able to give her a run for her money, she wandered around the fields until she finally found her friends gathered at the far end of the arena field. Midori had the brothers against one another, surprisingly enough with Tristan seemingly holding the advantage. As she got closer she noticed her scroll sync up with theirs and confirmed what she saw. Tristan's Aura hadn't taken a hit, somehow he was out maneuvering Justin.

"Hey what'd I miss?" Nickole asked Kobalt as she walked up next to him, now that she was close she could see his face twisted in disbelief.

"The upset of the century." Kobalt shook his head "And me realizing I'm about to lose eighty lien."

"You wanna tell me how?" Nickole asked

"Watch." Kobalt said pointing to Justin, who was just about to charge his brother.

As Nickole shifted her focus she saw Tristan slide off to the side as Justin rushed in. Just as his brother was about to pass him Tristan spun, slicing his brother's foot with his sword causing him to trip. Tristan came out of the spin with his legs spread apart and his sword raised horizontally next to his head. Nickole recognized the stance instantly, it was one of Kobalt's. Without wasting another second Tristan lunged forward, thrusting his sword into his brother's exposed back and knocking his Aura down into the red.

"Looks like you're a better teacher than you thought." Midori laughed walking up to Kobalt

"Yeah yeah." Kobalt sighed, reaching into his pocket and handing his professor a slip of lien.

"Do I even want to know?" Nickole asked

"Probably not." Kobalt shrugged

"So do either of you feel like doing any training?" Midori asked the two of them

"Can't really do much without my sword." Nickole countered

"You don't give yourself enough credit." Kobalt smiled "You've got a whole host of runes you could use."

"I don't typically use them without my sword, never needed to learn how." She argued

"Well now's as good a time as any." He said walking over to one of the gatehouse along the wall of the estate. "Come on, best way to learn is in the field."

"He's got a point, you might not always have your sword with you." Midori agreed "But your semblance…"

"Alright fine." Nickole caved as she jogged to catch up to Kobalt. Waving to one of the guards at the gate house the large shutters opened up for them to head out into the forest. Nickole would never have said it was crawling, but she'd have to be naïve to say there were no Grimm around. There were definitely some lurking in the forest, watching her family. The occasionally patrol would sometimes happen upon a Grimm out of their league, but a short call for back up usually got a specialist there before anyone got hurt. Even still she really didn't feel like dealing with Grimm without her sword, mostly she just wanted to burn through an obstacle course or two.

"So, I don't suppose this whole thing was a ploy to get us out here alone?" Nickole asked her boyfriend, almost hopefully.

"You know I really wish I'd thought of that." Kobalt laughed, slightly awkwardly, as he turned towards her. "But we really ought to train a…"

She didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence, she raised a hand up and pulled him into a kiss hoping it would change his mind. The fact that he wasn't even bothering to resist told her it was working.

"…little bit." Kobalt finished as she broke from the kiss. "Are you already getting in a habit of doing that?"

"What can I say, I don't want to deal with Grimm." Nickole shrugged as she threw her arms around his neck. "Besides, I still owe you one for getting my dad to stop with that awful story."

"You know if you told me that we could've just gone somewhere less dangerous and relaxed." Kobalt mentioned

"And we'd have been interrupted by my family anywhere we went." Nickole figured "Can't we just enjoy some privacy for once?"

"Well I'm not going to complain." Kobalt said leaning back in. Of course just as he did a low growl filled the air followed by the sound of leaves being parted.

"Oh come on." Nickole complained letting go of Kobalt and grabbing her shield off her back. She turned around to see a pair of red eyes emerging from the woods, a beowolf. As she watched, more and more poured out in front of her.

"See, **_this_** is why I would've preferred somewhere less dangerous." Kobalt told her as he drew his sword and pressed his back against hers, they were surrounded then. "In there we get interrupted by your family, out here well…this is slightly more annoying."

"I'll take Grimm any day." Nickole insisted "Of course that's on a day when I have my sword."

"Oh come on, it's beowolves Nickole." Kobalt laughed over his shoulder "Don't tell me you're actually worried?"

"Of course not, I've got you here don't I?" she smiled

"Well I can't do all the…AHHH!" Kobalt shouted in pain suddenly, when Nickole turned her head she saw him down with one knee in the dirt and a hand on his head.

"Not now." He muttered through gritted teeth.

 _Flashback!_ Nickole realized instantly, something was coming back to him. But now of all times? There weren't many situations that could be worse for something to come back to him. And seeing him drop to the ground made the beowolves much bolder. The pack began closing in slowly on the two of them, and Nickole was weaponless. She would've reached for Kobalt's sword but his grip on it was so tight it looked like he might snap it. This was bad real bad.

 _Calm down Nickole,_ she told herself. She was starting to panic, and that would only make things worse. The second the beowolves honed in on that emotion they'd pounce, and it was only a matter of time before they did anyway. She needed something, anything, something she could work with. She needed a rune, something to delay the beowolves long enough for her to get Kobalt out of there. But she couldn't think of any she had that could do that right now, absolutely none. A lockdown wouldn't trap them all, and her runeguard would only protect them for a short time. She didn't have a weapon for any of her augmentations and with this many, and any explosive rune would catch her and Kobalt in the explosion. Not good, not good at all. There was nothing she could do. And the moment that thought passed through her mind the wolves pounced, the entire pack leaping at them as one.

"NOO!" Nickole shouted, slamming her foot to the ground in desperation. She would **not** let them hurt Kobalt. She didn't care what it took, she had to stop them somehow.

With the surge of emotions running through her Nickole felt a sensation burn through her that she hadn't felt in years. Her Aura pulsed with life and from her foot spread a huge blue rune with three layers of circles, the outer most one ringed by fire. As it spread out further everything from between the first circle and the last shook. All at once the beowolves fell to the ground and the earth started splitting open. As quickly as she could Nickole reached for a rock at her feet, put her explosive rune on it and threw it up above the trees. The moment the rock left her hand she whipped around and reached for Kobalt's pistol. She thanked the winds it was loaded and the safety was off as she sighted the wolf directly in front of her and squeezed the trigger. She was not at all prepared for the kickback the pistol had, if she hadn't been training for the past seven years the recoil might've sent the gun flying right out of her hand. But the round obliterated the head of the beowolf she shot at, and as she moved on to the next target she braced herself for the recoil this time. Now that she knew what to expect the recoil wasn't as bad, with her compensating for it she was making quick work of the wolves in front of her. And just in time too, just as she shifted her focus to the ones behind her the rune died out and the wolves started to get back up. She was still in motion when she pulled the trigger, so instead of nailing the wolf in the head she missed and tore off its arm. Still it was enough to keep that one out of the fight so she moved on. Her instincts screamed at her to duck just a beowolf snapped its jaws where her head had been a second ago. It flew past her and she quickly shot it in the back before it could land and attack again. Nickole turned back around to see the remaining wolves had stepped back a few feet, together the three survivors rushed towards Kobalt. She jumped forwards, landing right next to him and bringing her shield up to try and cover him. She felt one wolf hit her shield and she started to fire wildly in front of herself when another series of quick and loud shots rang out. Nickole would've recognized that gunshot anywhere, she lowered her shield to see the heads of all three wolves gone. In their place the singed remains of their necks that Tristan's sniper left. Thank the winds, they must've seen her explosive rune go off and come running.

"Nickole." Kobalt strained to speak, his head was raised but it looked like it was taking everything he had to keep it up.

"It's alright, were safe now." She told him, kneeling down next to him.

"Behind." He added before dropping straight to the ground.

Nickole heard the footsteps before she even got the chance to turn around. Just coming into the clearing now was the largest Ursa Nickole had ever seen. Twice the size of any other one she'd seen and much more menacing. It settled on all fours directly in front of Nickole and roared so loud it nearly blew her hair right off her head. Before it could do anything Nickole leveled the pistol dead against its head and squeezed the trigger. And the gun clicked; empty. Completely paralyzed Nickole didn't even know what to do, even a half intelligent Grimm would've noticed the gun doing nothing. She no longer had a weapon, and it was far too close for her to get her shield up in time. Its paw was already raised up above its head and Nickole prayed her Aura would be able to take the hit. But before it could strike her another roar filled the forest, this one almost human sounding. Before she could even blink, Justin burst passed her head and impaled his spear in the Ursa's hand. He pulled it out and sliced the spearhead across the Ursa's chest, quick as a flash he started pushing the Grimm back with thrusts so fast Nickole couldn't tell if his semblance was lightning powers or lighting speed. As if reading her mind Justin started arcing lighting from nearly every inch of his body and along his spear. It was insane, as though he'd merely been holding back against Tristan earlier. But even if he had been his Aura was still low, a single swipe sent him flying back and into a tree, and Nickole saw the last of his Aura go with it. But Justin didn't even slow down, he got back up and charged in again. His head quickly bent back as a swipe came in and his thrust his spear dead center of the Ursa's chest.

"Stay the hell away from my friends." He added before squeezing the trigger on his spear, sending it and him flying forward and through the Ursa. The hole it left was already smoking as the creature fell over dead. Without even taking a moment for himself Justin ran back over to Nickole, who was only now beginning to process everything that just happened. As she shook of the shock she turned her attention back to Kobalt who was coming to.

"You both okay?" Justin asked once he reached them.

"I'm fine," Nickole told him as she bent down to Kobalt and threw his arm over her shoulder "But Kobalt…"

Then she looked up at Justin to see he was bleeding, just under his left eye was a gash the Ursa must've left after his Aura had been knocked out.

"Woah, Justin you alright?" Tristan asked as he walked into view. Justin briefly reached a hand up to his face and recoiled in pain when he touched the wound.

"I'm fine." He insisted, smearing the blood across his cheek as he withdrew his hand.

"Take it from me, get that cleaned out when we get back." Kobalt breathed as he used his sword to try and push himself to his feet.

"You good Blue?" Nickole asked pulling him up further.

"Well I'm pissed that my mind chose now of all times to remember something." He admitted "But I'm alright, and I really need something to drink."

"What'd you remember?" Tristan asked

"A pack of beowolves attacking me in a forest." Kobalt sighed "Not even something important."

"Well that's not fair." Nickole added "Come on, let's get out of here."


	22. Chapter 22: Welcome to Haven

"Focus Kobalt!" Professor Midori shouted over the sound of pulsing energy. "Condense it, force the energy into a beam!"

Tristan stood and watched as Kobalt, who was in the middle of firing a huge wave of energy, trying to focus it into a thin beam. Kobalt's attacks had always been wide and massive, but Midori was convinced that if he focused all that energy into a single thin beam, it would be even stronger. Meanwhile he merely had Tristan stay invisible as long as possible, so he just watched in secret as Kobalt fired off wave after wave of energy trying to condense it.

"That's enough for now professor." Kobalt gasped as his most recent wave had barely been any thinner than the last.

"Come on you've got one more in you." Midori argued

"No I don't." Kobalt said standing up to his professor.

"Professor if I may," Tristan said revealing himself "Kobalt's been firing off blasts for the better part of the morning. He knows his limit."

"Fine, go take a break." Midori sighed, Kobalt nodded to Tristan as he walked by.

"And what about you Tristan?" Midori asked him "Any progress?"

"I've increased how long I can stay invisible." Tristan told him "You really wanna hear about me sitting around all day to do that?"

"Go ahead and get some food." Midori told him "I need to make a call to Ozpin anyway."

Tristan faded back to being invisible and walked over to where his team was sitting at a table outside for lunch. He walked up behind Justin and grabbed a bread roll off his plate while his head was turned.

"So how's everyone doing?" Tristan asked coming into view

"Tired." Kobalt said putting his head on the table

"What don't like training?" Tristan asked

"I just opened up new reserves of Aura, and Midori has me burning it all off in minutes." Kobalt said "What do you think?"

"Fair enough, Nickole?"

"It takes me a long time to develop new runes." She said "I've been at it three weeks, and the only new one I have I got before I started trying."

"I bet your training's still more fun than mine." Tristan reasoned "I sit around invisible for as long as possible. Such a useless semblance, I'm a sniper, Grimm won't even get close enough to me for me to need it."

"Well for hunting Grimm it is yeah, but that's not all a Huntsman does." Nickole pointed out

"What do you mean?"

"My brother explained it to me like this, some Huntsmen do focus on hunting Grimm and protecting the kingdoms from them." Nickole started "But that's not the whole job, criminals are just as big a threat as Grimm are."

"That's a job for the police." Tristan argued

"And if the police could catch every criminal there wouldn't be the White Fang." Justin reminded them

"Exactly, you can turn invisible Tristan. That makes you a specialist in infiltration without any real training." Nickole said "With some you'd be perfect for sneaking into criminal hideouts and taking them down from the inside."

"That's not why I signed up for this though." Tristan said

"Then why did you?" Kobalt asked "Why do you even want to be a Huntsman?"

"You don't think I want to be one?" Tristan asked

"I never said that, I asked why you want to be one, the exact reason."

"It wasn't even my idea, my dad recommended it, and I wasn't sure when he did." Tristan admitted

"Then why come to Beacon if you weren't sure?" Nickole asked "What changed your mind?"

Tristan sat there in silence for a moment. Why did he want to be a Huntsman? It felt like something he knew without a doubt when he applied to Beacon, yet now as he thought about it, he'd be a useless Huntsman. What did the world need with another guy who could shoot Grimm?

"It was Amber." Justin said finishing his drink.

"What?" Kobalt asked

"A few years back Amber was attacked waiting for Tristan." Justin explained "He saved her life and from then on, he never doubted being a Huntsman."

"I thought you said you wouldn't tell anyone that?" Tristan asked his brother

"And you told me we can trust them." Justin countered "They have a right to know about you."

"Shut up." Tristan said, beaten

"You know there are worse reasons to become a Huntsman." Nickole said "You want to protect her, don't you?"

"Yeah I don't doubt that. But remember back during initiation, when you cut off that Manticore's tail?" Kobalt smiled "I remember you had a huge grin on your face, you were having fun. Say what you want, you enjoy this too."

"Yeah I guess I was." Tristan chuckled

"So what's up with you?" Kobalt asked "You looked like a kicked puppy."

"It's just, when you asked me, I couldn't think of why I want to be a Huntsman." Tristan admitted "You're right, but why did I need someone else to tell me what I should know?"

"Is that supposed to be a bad joke?" Kobalt laughed "Tristan from someone with terrible long term memory, trust me; sometimes we need someone else to remind us who we are."

"What about you?" Tristan asked Kobalt, "Why do you want to be a Huntsman?"

"Did you suddenly get amnesia instead?" Kobalt asked "I came to Beacon to try and find out who I am, not for the training."

"So what are you going to do now that you've got your answers?"

"What you think I'm just going to leave you all?" Kobalt laughed "No, I'm going to need a job now. I don't have anything to my name, and I've spent my whole life training to fight, I don't know how to do much else."

"So might as well do something you know then try to learn something else?" Nickole asked

"Basically."

"But what do you want to do?" Tristan asked

"I wish I knew." Kobalt smiled sadly "I know I always wanted to be stronger, but I don't know what for."

"Well we'll just have to find out." Nickole said putting a hand on his shoulder. "You did have fun taking on those thugs at Junior's."

"And you've done a good job leading our team." Tristan added "Maybe you were meant to be a Huntsman."

"Who knows, I guess anything's possible." Kobalt said

"Enjoying your break?" Professor Midori asked walking over to them.

"Just get off the line with Ozpin, Professor?" Tristan asked

"Yeah, we going to be heading out to Haven Academy shortly. Better pack your things." Midori told them

"Haven, what for?" Kobalt asked

"Security for one." Midori said sitting down at the far end of the table

"They're hosting the Vytal Festival this year aren't they?" Nickole asked

"Yep, their security is already set and Ozpin assures me there's no way Black Knight has eyes at Haven." Midori said "Plus I've been training you on the premise that you'll all be competing in the tournament. Ozpin's already qualified you all for it, and usually contestants head to the host kingdom early."

"We don't exactly have much to pack, most of our stuff is still at Beacon." Tristan noted

"I'll call Oz, he'll find some way to get you your stuff." Midori sighed

"When do we leave?" Kobalt asked

"Few hours, send me a message with everything you'll need from your room. I'll forward to Ozpin."

"You heard him gang, get a list going for your stuff." Kobalt ordered "Get that and the rest of your gear and be back in an hour."

"Sir yes sir." Tristan chuckled, never getting tired of Kobalt's squad leader mentality.

Not much longer later the entirety of KNGT was boarding an airship on the Gareth landing strip. Nickole's parents had shown up to say goodbye as the team left, Tristan noticed Nickole's father whisper something to Kobalt before they left that made Kobalt look more pale than ever. Tristan just laughed as Kobalt hopped on the ship, if Nickole's father was anything like Amber's he knew exactly what he had told Kobalt. The ship took them north for a short time before it docked with a slightly larger ship and they switched onto it instead. Tristan recognized it as one of the airships that took them to Beacon at the start of the year. There were a few groups of people already on board too, mostly students that Tristan didn't recognize.

"And where the hell have you all been?" A voice called out behind them.

Tristan turned to see JADE standing behind them, Jazz no doubt having been the one who yelled.

"You've been missing for the past few weeks, and all any of the professors would tell us is you were off on special training." Jazz told them

"You wanna fill us in on what you were really doing Kobalt?" Amy asked "And since when do you own a pistol?"

"It's a long story, we'll tell you later." Tristan said coming to his friend's defense, no doubt Kobalt didn't really want to talk about most of what had happened

"We were mostly training with Professor Midori for the Vytal Festival." Kobalt added

"If you say so, but I know somethings up." Jazz said "Hell the airship stopped halfway to Haven just so we could pick you up, why not come back to Beacon?"

Tristan opened his mouth to speak but Jazz cut him off.

"I know, I know, long story." She sighed "Come on let's find a window up front, we should be there in a few hours."

"How fast is this ship?" Tristan asked in awe.

Sure enough it wasn't more than two hours before they were in sight of Mistral and Haven academy. Like Vale the city was close to the water but rather than the ocean it sat on the mountains in front of the Anima's iconic sea. It was a sight to see, between the buildings constructed along the mountains and Haven Academy built across the top of the two major peaks it was extraordinarily different from Vale. Tracing the outline of the city, Tristan saw it was in an almost constant state of expansion. Even on the sea, there seemed to be an entire district floating on the water. In the center of the campus was a large square building with an open area similar to Beacon tower. Inside of it Tristan was able to make out a giant astrolabe with a glowing blue center sphere, circulating around the center on rings were a few other smaller blue spheres. Slowly the airship descended towards a landing pad by the side of the academy facing the water.

"So this is Haven academy huh?" Nickole asked aloud "Its looks, old."

"Yep, older than the other academies by a few years, used to be a palace during the war." Midori said stepping off the ship behind them "You should all head to the arena for now, straight ahead you can't miss it. I'm going to find someone in charge, see if I can't speed things up with our living arrangements."

"Got it." The Beacon team leaders answered together.

"And Kobalt," Midori started before leaving "Start strategizing as soon as possible, your team's going to need some good attacks."

"On it." Kobalt said pulling out his scroll and plugging in his headphones. "Nickole make sure these two don't walk me into a wall or something, I can walk and plan at the same time."

"Hey I take offense to that." Tristan feigned insult, Kobalt just raised an eyebrow before Tristan chuckled and led the way ahead. Heading to the arena already seemed like a good idea to him, maybe get a feel for the teams they'd be up against.

Seraphina Ward woke up after yet another nearly sleepless night, she rolled over and checked the time, 8:30. At least she got a few hours of rest last night, that was the best it had been in years. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and took a quick shower, straightening her dark black hair and forcing herself awake. She grabbed her usual white dress, slipped on her bracelets, shoes, and strapped on her white belt with her discs on it. She grabbed her cloak off the wall next to her closet, and tied off the knot the held it in place. The grey cloak wrapped around her hiding most of her dress, she pulled up the hood and stepped out her door to make her way to Haven. Leandros had told her about the early arrivals from the other Huntsmen Academies a few days before, and many of her own students still needed additional training. Some were ready to compete in the Vytal Tournament, but many others were not. No doubt some would be preparing, and once at Haven she made her way across the campus to the arena to see which teams were training. Team FIRE was already making use of the empty arena, and a small crowd of less capable students were already gathered there watching them train. Furi effortlessly dueled Octavia, trying to improve her form. Their katanas clashed and Sera noted the dust particles flying from Octavia's white blade. Onyx on the other hand was having a difficult time landing a hit on Nitrous, the young speed demon blazed around the hulking giant and his immense sword. There wasn't a doubt in Sera's mind that they would go far in the tournament. Furi alone was an extremely gifted fighter, he reminded Sera much of her husband Marek when they had attended Haven. She hadn't seen him in years however, and it had led to many nights like her last one. Though in all honesty it had only exacerbated a preexisting problem.

Sera's thoughts were cut off when abruptly when she felt an incredible Aura, it surged with power as it entered the arena not far from her. For a moment she thought it was Leandros, coming to watch the students. But it felt different than the headmaster's, and at the same time it was eerily familiar. She turned her head to the entrance, seeing a small group of students enter the arena, no doubt from another academy, but one group stood out. All four were well armored, one a boy in bright gold armor with blood red hair, the boy next to him wore a blue jacket that barely covered a silver chestplate. Another was a girl, bright blonde hair and beautiful grey armor. It was the boy holding her hand that drew her attention. Wearing black, blue, and grey armor, a helmet held in the crook of an arm, in his hand a scroll connected to a pair of headphones. His face sent shivers up Sera's spine, dark blue eyes, pale skin and dark black hair.

 _It couldn't be_ , she thought _this boy has a scar across his face that would shock Marek. And Gallin had that streak of…_

Then he passed mere feet from her, and she reached out again. Her semblance had come in handy over the years, and she was hoping, praying, it wasn't going haywire now. The surge of power was coming from this boy, the raw strength of it was staggering, but deep down she recognized it, power that felt like a small blue flame flickering in the dark, small but incredibly bright. As he neared her, she caught the glimpse of the streak of blue in his dark hair. And for a moment, her heart stopped.

"Gallin?" Sera asked pulling her hood off as he walked by her, but he didn't hear her with the headphones on.

"Gallin!" She called out as he began walking further away, still nothing. She called on every ounce of motherly authority she had in her, coupled with over a decade of frustration.

"Gallin Ward you turn around this instant!" She yelled at him, drawing the attention of a few students in the stands below her. He still didn't respond, she almost lost hope when the boy in the blue jacket turned around to see her facing them. He nudged the other boy in the arm.

"Hey, I think she's talking to you man." He said to his friend, his voice wavering as if worried. The other boy started turning around, and took off his headphones.

"What are you talking about, whose…" he stopped when he saw Sera, his eyes went wide and he dropped everything in his hands.

"Mom?" he asked, his voice quiet. She didn't even have time to nod before he ran up and embraced her.

"That is you right mom?" he asked her, his voice breaking.

"Yes Gallin, its me." she said wrapping her arms around her son for the first time in what felt like eternity.

"Gallin," he chuckled "That's a name I haven't heard in ages, brings back memories."

"Nearly twelve years now." She said breaking away from him to look at his face. A single tear was running down it, and Sera doubted it would be long before she started crying herself "You've gotten taller Gallin."

"It's weird to hear that name after all this time." he said wiping the tear from his eye, "Its Kobalt these days."

"Kobalt?" she asked

"It's a long story, but I don't care about that right now." He smiled

"Then tell me young man what do you care about?" a voice behind Sera asked. She turned to see Leandros standing behind her, dressed for battle like always. His silver shoulder guards and chestplate looked recently polished, Leandros himself looked more professional than ever, his brown hair combed and even his beard was trimmed down.

"Leandros? What are you doing here?" Sera asked him

"I came down to observe my students train, and to see the new arrivals." He said looking at Gallin, "Who's this, he seems familiar."

"This is my son, Gallin." Sera said, offset by his sudden curiosity "Gallin this Leandros Hlaford, Headmaster of Haven."

"Headmaster? You're the one Qrow was talking about." Gallin said

"Ah yes, Qrow." Leandros said "He spoke of you as well, though he said your name was Kobalt."

"It's a long story." Gallin started "I'm sure Ozpin's filled you…"

Sera felt the blade move long before she saw it. In a flash she reached for her discs and brought them up, blocking Leandros' sword before it could cleave Gallin in two. She locked the blade in the hole of her disc, pulling it away from Gallin.

"Leandros, what are you doing?" Sera asked him, her instincts were screaming at her to lash out but she forced herself to remain calm.

"Testing the Ward family's skill," he said calmly "You haven't raised your discs in years, and Qrow told me this boy reminded him of myself, his reaction time is impressive."

Sera looked towards her son, his arm was raised and a field of energy was projected in a shield in front of him. His other hand was on his sword, half drawn from its sheath. His skill was leagues ahead of when he was a boy, to have felt and reacted to the Headmaster's blade as fast as he did was astonishing.

"You attacked my son to test our skill?" Sera asked, anger starting to bubble to the surface.

"You shouldn't be surprised Sera, were you worried I'd…" Sera didn't let him finish, she activated her discs the small blades inside started spinning and she pushed Leandros back away from Gallin. Sera linked her light cables to the discs and stepped forward.

"You're well aware I haven't seen my son in almost twelve years, **you** shouldn't be surprised!" She yelled as she threw her discs at him, Leandros deflected them with his sword. Sera pulled on the cables, bringing her discs back to her.

"Gallin sweetie, stand back." Sera said closing the distance between herself and Leandros. She heard him back up to his friends and decided he was far enough back for her not hold back.

"Really now Seraphina? You haven't fought anyone in years, do you honestly believe this is a good idea?" Leandros asked her. She answered him with a disc aimed at his face, it nailed him in the jaw and bounced back to her. "Very well."

Sera launched her blades back at him, giving them a light burst of speed as they flew towards the headmaster. He knocked them both back at her, she dodged out of their way letting the discs fly behind her. She grabbed tightly onto the cables and when they pulled taut she spun, bring the disc above her head and down with more speed on Leandros. In an instant she brought the next one down, she kept spinning, raining her discs down on top of Leandros over and over again. She shifted her stance, spinning her discs horizontally, carving through the wall and the railing both. Leandros did all he could to block her attacks, it seemed he was on the ropes. She slammed both her discs into him at once, plowing him into the wall sending dust flying everywhere.

"Are you finished?" Leandros asked from within the dust kicked up by her attack. She barely even saw the shockwave coming, a ring of light burst from the smoke and sent her flying backwards.

"It would seem so." He said, in a flash he dashed forward, his sword coming down on top of her. Sera closed her eyes, and prepared for the pain of her Aura being broken in a single strike. Instead she heard the sound of steel clashing against steel, and opened her eyes to see her son standing in front of her, his sword locked with Leandros', holding it at bay.

"Gallin… how?" She asked in awe

"I told you, it's Kobalt these days." He said pushing Leandros back "I know it's going to be hard for you to get used to it, but I haven't gone by Gallin in a long time."

"What do you think you're doing boy?" Leandros asked confused as to why Gallin was standing up to him.

"I haven't seen my mother in years, you think that's bad for her?" Gallin laughed "You have no idea how it's been for me. And you just attacked her, Headmaster of Haven or not, I'm not letting that slide."

"Gallin, be careful he's…"

"The best swordsman in Remnant from what I've heard." Gallin said cutting her off, he turning his head towards her and smiled "Seriously mom, call me Kobalt."

"Students, clear the arena!" Leandros shouted "You're brave, let's see if Qrow was right about you."

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing." Kobalt said before leaping into a now empty arena.


	23. Chapter 23: Swordsmen

Kobalt stood in the center of what he had to admit it was a very nice arena, much different than the one he had fought in at Beacon. This one was decades older, made of stone like much of the school, yet it had clearly been updated several times over. Kobalt saw the monitors placed overhead for Aura indictors, and the benches had been replaced with padded ones instead of stone. Only the arena pit remained as Kobalt imagined it had originated, stone and dirt. Perhaps a few hidden doors underneath to let training gear be brought up quickly, but that was all but unnoticeable to him.

Right now all he could see was the man who'd attacked his mother, for no reason better than testing her skill. He was impressive in presence alone that was for sure, with his strong build, intricate silver armor on his chest and shoulders, and his aura of confidence. He had been about what Kobalt expected, a strong looking man, long dark brown hair and a short but dense beard. Save the pieces on his chest and shoulders, he wore no armor instead light brown robes peaked out from underneath, and covered his legs. He wore a pair of orange bracelets and brown boots that disappeared under his robes. His sword was larger than Kobalt's and matte grey with a leather grip. Its hilt was the same shape of the school's crest.

"Let's make this a proper duel shall we," Leandros said after landing "No use of semblance, if what Qrow said is true then you should still be a decent opponent."

"Trying to make things easier for yourself?" Kobalt asked, "You just attacked my mother, semblance or not, I'm going to make you regret that."

"Is that a threat?" Leandros asked

Kobalt answered with a dash towards him, bringing Arondight up from below his waist. Leandros deflected the strike upwards and Kobalt brought it back down onto Leandros' head. Their swords locked and Kobalt caught the slightest hint of a smile on the Headmaster's face. Kobalt dropped low and spun, sweeping with both his leg and sword together. Leandros jumped over both attacks and brought his own blade down on top of Kobalt as he landed. He didn't get his sword up in time to block, instead his aura took the brunt of the hit and he was sent flying backwards. Kobalt stopped himself by driving his sword into the ground, leaving a gash in the dirt beneath him. He stood up and steadied himself, Leandros was a stronger opponent than anything Kobalt had ever fought before. He knew that going in though, you don't get to be headmaster of a Huntsmen Academy for nothing. He looked up to the stands to see his mother with a very concerned look on her face. Next to her was Nickole, with a much different look. Her face might as well have been screaming, _stop messing around already._ Kobalt chuckled and took a deep breath.

 _Focus,_ he thought to himself, _you trained in swordplay for years with Black Knight, time to remember how to fight._

Kobalt let his instincts take over and settled into a more familiar stance, his sword raised in one hand next to his head and pointed towards Leandros. Kobalt saw the look in his eyes shift, and Leandros took a stance himself raising his sword above his head in both hands. They charged at each other and as Kobalt brought his blade up into Leandros' the sound of steel rung loudly throughout the arena. Leandros didn't hide his surprise when his sword was pushed back and Kobalt pressed his advantage. With Leandros' sword knocked up Kobalt spun bringing his own sword across Leandros' chest. Leandros recovered and returned the favor, striking Kobalt with the flat of his sword. Steel clanged against steel as the two met each other blow for blow, and Kobalt forced himself not to think as he dueled the Headmaster. He ducked his head around a thrust and slid Arondight along Leandros' blade, keeping it pinned to his right as he slashed at his opponent. Kobalt carried the slash through and came out behind Leandros, as he came to a stop he spun intent on carving into the Headmaster from behind. But he was met with steel once again as Leandros brought his sword behind his back, and pushed Kobalt away as he turned to face him. Leandros lunged forward, bringing his blade down hard where Kobalt had been standing mere seconds ago. His instincts alone kept him from being on the receiving end of that strike, but Leandros didn't give him a chance to counter. He carved his blade through the ground, kicking up dust with it as he brought up to Kobalt's legs. He managed to leap above the sword, but missed the fist that struck him through the dust and nailed him in the gut.

Kobalt caught himself as he slid face down along the ground and leapt to his feet. Leandros was already on him and it was all Kobalt could do to parry the thrust he was bringing downwards and away from him. But as the attack was deflected, Kobalt felt Leandros shift his weight as he pushed Arondight up and out of Kobalt's hands. The sword went flying back behind the headmaster, and Kobalt was left defenseless before him. With no other options as Leandros brought his blade in fast and hard, Kobalt was forced to dodge each attack with a few grazing him and he rolled around them. He needed to get his sword back, but Leandros wasn't even remotely letting up, so Kobalt made him. He stepped in close as another thrust came in and grabbed Leandros' wrist, locking it up with one hand while the other punched the headmaster squarely in the jaw. Kobalt pushed Leandros' arm up as he rolled under it, twisting Leandros' wrist and elbowing him in the side. Kobalt quickly shoved him away and rolled for his own blade. He came out of the roll as he grabbed Arondight and raised it in both hands just in time to block another heavy strike. His blade returned Kobalt pressed back, feeling his strength and confidence grow with each strike. It was as though the duel was forcing his mind to remember his training. With his skill coming back bit by bit the battle seemed to be growing even.

More sure of himself than ever before, Kobalt put every bit of training that was coming back to the test. His goal now was to put Leandros on the defensive, to force him to slip up. He slid around a downwards slice and thrust his sword like a rapier, counting on the change in stance to send the Headmaster through a loop. As Leandros brought his the flat of his blade up to block his next thrust, Kobalt could see he was anticipating another thrust soon after, as his grip was just light enough to deflect the attack. When the tip of his sword made contact with Leandros' Kobalt pivoted, raking Arondight across the Headmaster's open leg. Leandros all but roared and thrust his sword down at Kobalt, but he was able to roll away in time and the blade sunk into the earth. He came out of the roll and dashed forwards, slicing as he went. He heard the sound of his blade meet Leandros' as he passed by, but he also felt the tip of it scratch the Headmaster's chest. If need be he could slowly chip away at his Aura while dodging any attacks too strong to block. But that idea was quickly dashed from his mind as Leandros leapt forward, his blade arcing fast from his side. Kobalt brought his own sword up to block the attack, but as soon as the two blade made contact Leandros flipped his grip on his sword. Holding it backwards, he hooked onto Arondight's crossguard and pulled it forwards bringing Kobalt with it. Rather than risk being pinned to the Headmaster, Kobalt released his sword from his right hand as his left shot out to catch it. He sliced up as he caught the blade, carving through the underside of Leandros' arm forcing him back a few steps. Kobalt now flipped his own grip and drove his blade into the ground. He spun in a circle kicking up as much dust as he could, blinding him from his opponent. Likely suspecting him to copy his previous attack, Kobalt sensed Leandros wasn't moving. Instead he felt the Headmaster hold his ground and brace for an attack. So Kobalt gave him one, taking a page from Nickole's book he threw his sword at Leandros while at the same time speeding off in a separate direction. As Leandros deflected the attack he must've thought Kobalt would be with, Kobalt instead burst out of the dust midair next to his head. Kobalt spun, driving his foot into the back of Leandros' head as he dropped down and grabbed his sword out of the air. He cut upwards as soon as he landed, intent on carving his blade through the Headmaster's chest.

Instead, Leandros managed to get his blade up just in time to block. But in his haste, he had left his stance weak, and instead of blocking the finishing blow he merely delayed it as the force of Kobalt's attack knocked Leandros' sword hand up high. His opening clear, Kobalt pivoted, slashing three times against an open target as Leandros reeled from the attack. With barely a second left before Leandros could recover, Kobalt delivered a two handed thrust to the center of his chest driving him back into the wall. Kobalt jumped back and readied for a counter attack. What he got instead, was applause. Still sitting down with his back against the wall, Leandros was clapping furiously.

"Excellent!" He laughed, his voice booming with excitement "I expected no less from Seraphina's son! That was remarkable, whoever trained you was skilled, quite skilled indeed!"

"Excuse me?" Kobalt asked surprised

"I haven't had a duel like that in ages!" Leandros bellowed

"It's over?"

"Of course it is, you out maneuvered me, we could go another round if you like." Leandros laughed "But you kept pace with me and punished the one opening you found, heavily. That's a loss to me."

"Really?" Kobalt asked confused

"Qrow was wrong, you are far beyond where I was at your age." Leandros added as he stood back up. "Though after what Ozpin said, I nearly expected someone as tall as me."

"Ozpin told you about me?" He asked the headmaster "Then you know about…"

"Of course he did, but as I said; so did Qrow. And I was eager to see just how powerful you are." Leandros cut him off, his face turning ever so slight more serious. "But remember, even with all that training, you have a long way to go."

With that Leandros leapt out of the arena and left through the main door, leaving Kobalt standing in the center of the arena with a huge amount of quiet onlookers in the stands.

"What's your name?" A student shouted from the back

"Kobalt." He answered awkwardly

"Where are you from?" Someone else asked

"Beacon." Kobalt answered, for a split second there were a few whisperings among the crowd. Then the crowd erupted in questions, and Kobalt ducked out through a small door in the side of the arena.

"Are they always like that here?" Kobalt asked aloud

"You'll get used it, everyone here gets worked up easily." His mother said greeting him in the locker room along with the rest of his team.

"We should probably talk huh?" Kobalt asked awkwardly

"Probably," His mother smiled "But right now I only care that my son's come back to me."

"So…"Kobalt stammered "Is Leandros always like that?"

"He's serious when he needs to be." Sera told him "But most of the time he is nothing more than a cheerful Huntsman looking forward to his next battle. And he can incredibly absent minded sometimes. I've asked the other Headmasters to copy me on any important reports they send to him so I can make sure he reads them."

"Speaking of which, the message from Ozpin he mentioned, did you read that?" Kobalt asked

"It came in the other day, but I haven't gotten the chance to look ever it yet." She said

"That's uh, that's the one about me." Kobalt admitted "I assume you want to know where I've been all these years, it's all in there."

"I'd rather hear it from you." She said, clearly confused

"That's the thing," Kobalt started "It might not be the best idea for me to talk about it."

"I could tell her if that's easier for you." Nickole said speaking up from the back.

"I'm sorry who are you?" Kobalt's mother asked

"Mom, this is Nickole. She's my uh, my girlfriend." Kobalt introduced

"My baby boy comes back after almost twelve years, fights my boss, and brings a girlfriend." Sera sighed "I don't know whether to be happy, proud, or in shock. How did all of this happen?"

"I kind of had no memory for the past few months." Kobalt added "Is there somewhere we can talk, just us? I get the feeling we've got some eavesdroppers."

A few minutes later the five of them were all sitting in Sera's office at Haven. Kobalt was amazed at the amount of pictures she had of students along the walls. But sitting on her desk was a single picture, one of a young Kobalt, his mother and his father all together.

"So why would it be easier for her to tell me where you've been?" Sera asked him as he stared at the picture.

"Because she knows what's happened better than the rest of my team and has helped me more than the professors at Beacon." he said after taking a deep breath "And the more I talk about it the worse the pain in my head is, it's better for someone else to."

"If it's better for you then okay, young lady I'll let you fill me in." His mother sighed

"Okay, so when we all met, Kobalt had no idea who he was or where he came from." Nickole began "He had two memories of his past and only one gave us anything to work with, but from there we started tracking down what happened to him."

…..

…..

"And then we came here, Ozpin said this campus was more secure than Beacon. And you know the rest." Nickole finished. Throughout the whole story, Kobalt's mother had been eerily silent, never once saying a word but occasionally her eyes hinted at what she was feeling. Now that Nickole had finished the story, she stood up, walked around her desk and hugged Nickole so tight Kobalt was worried she was going to suffocate her.

"Thank you for helping my son." She managed to say "I can't believe someone would do all that to him."

"It was my pleasure Mrs.…" Nickole started "I'm sorry I still don't know your name."

"Seraphina Ward." Kobalt said, a thin smile on his face.

"And your name is…" Nickole turned to him

"Still Kobalt," he chucked

"No what was it?" Nickole asked "Before Black Knight."

"Gallin, his name was Gallin Ward." Sera said

"I haven't gone by that name in years." Kobalt admitted "I've been using Kobalt instead since before I escaped from Black Knight."

"Why?" Sera asked him

"I'm not really sure, but I know that at some point Gallin started to feel, wrong." he admitted "Kobalt might have been the name they gave me, but I'm not the person I was when I left home."

"Alright, I can accept that. Kobalt's not a bad name." Sera said "But I do have a couple of other questions. Like how a boy with amnesia and normal Beacon student start dating."

"Why does everyone seem to want to know that lately?" Kobalt mused

"Your son's more than just a decent looker." Nickole smiled "Have you been to Beacon Mrs. Ward?"

"Of course."

"Have you seen the gardens there?"

"Yes, they're kind of hard to miss." Sera laughed

"Have you seen them at night?" Nickole asked

"Oh?" Sera raised an eyebrow, looking over to Kobalt. "Perhaps you're more like me than I thought, making a move like that."

"Hey I helped." Tristan said in the back

"Oh shut up Tristan." Kobalt laughed "I would have done something eventually."

"Okay, whatever you say." Tristan smiled "You gonna introduce us to your mom now too?"

"Mom this is Tristan and Justin, part of my team at Beacon." Kobalt chuckled while shaking his head.

"Your team?"

"I'm the leader of team KNGT." He told her

"And the surprises just keep on coming." Sera smiled "At least that's a small one. Okay so I've got one last question, are you ready to see our home again?"

"I uh, yeah but…" Kobalt stopped, he couldn't seem to get the words out. Home, the very concept felt so foreign all of a sudden. If he had thought about it a month ago, Beacon would've been what he called home. But now, he didn't know what to think.

"We'll head for the dorm room, I'll keep these two out of trouble." Tristan said, nearly pulling the rest of the team out of the office.

"Excuse me?" Nickole called him out as they walked out the door. She briefly flashed Kobalt a worried look before he nodded and turned back to his mother.

A short walk out of Haven Kobalt found himself in front of a house he hadn't thought of in ages. Smooth white stone walls and low pitched roof, Kobalt remembered moving in here as a child, and how it looked back then just having been built. It looked just as new now, and he felt like he was moving in for the first time again. When his mother opened the door he remembered just how open the whole house was. The door led into the 'family room', though with the lack of walls throughout the house it wasn't even remotely isolated. The kitchen, dining table and family room were all within sight of the doorway. Through the huge glass window Kobalt was able to make out a balcony, and the pool that sat below it. As he walked further in he saw a glass walled gym big enough for two people to work out in on his left. And a set of stairs leading down just beyond it. To his right he saw a hallway that split off into two rooms. Instinctively he started walking towards the room on the right and opened the door. It was a child's room that was for sure, posters of Huntsmen and Huntresses lined the wall and action figures sat on the desk. A single picture sat on the night stand, Kobalt picked it up to see it was the same one his mother had in her office. His family all together, with big smiles on their faces.

"Where's dad?" Kobalt asked at last "Why isn't he here?"

That moment Kobalt saw his mother truly sad for the first time in his life, as far as he knew she had never once looked upset about anything. But at the mention of his father, her eyes had a pained look to them.

"Your father, he took you disappearance hard." His mother admitted "He believed you'd been taken from our home and went off searching. I haven't seen him in a long time."

"He disappeared too?"

"No he checks in every few months, status updates on gangs he's taken down looking for you." She sighed "But he hasn't been home in eight years. I messaged Leandros on the way here, asking him to try and get word to your father and tell him you're back."

"He hasn't been here in eight years?" Kobalt asked, "He left you alone that long?"

"You can't blame him for that, you were our world." Sera told him "When you were gone I broke down, I could barely teach for the next year. And Marek, he got angry, he swore he'd find you and make whoever took you pay."

"He'll never find Black Knight, there was no trail for him to follow." Kobalt said setting the picture back down "He should've just come home."

He stood there in silence for a minute before he walked out of the room, he needed to breathe.

"We still have two guest rooms downstairs right?" he asked

"Of course, nothing in the house is much different than it used to be." She told him

"Good, I'll be staying in one of those rooms from now on." He said

"But Gal… Kobalt, don't you want to stay in your old room?"

"That's Gallin Ward's room, I know this is going to be hard to hear but I'm not Gallin Ward anymore." Kobalt sighed "The boy you knew, he's changed so much he can't even remember what he used to be like. I can't stay in that room, not anymore."

"You know when you were growing up I knew the day would come when I wondered what happened to my little boy." Sera smiled sadly "I imagined it'd be somewhere in your teens and you'd change so much I thought you'd been replaced. At least now I don't need to wonder what happened, and I'll get to know the man you've become."

"Yeah how old am I anyway?" Kobalt asked "I can't even remember my own birthday."

"You're eighteen this last February." Sera told him "I'll have to think of a birthday gift for you."

They both laughed when she said that and Kobalt went downstairs to the guest room and took off his armor. While he was down there he got a text from Nickole.

Hey our stuff just got here, I figured you might want your clothes, and maybe your bike. What's your address, I can come drop them off.

How's home?

It's weird being here, but it could be worse. He responded along with the address.

See you in a little while.

In the meantime Kobalt did his best to alleviate the awkwardness between him and his mother. It was to be expected after not seeing each other for eleven years, but he had absolutely nothing to talk about. He couldn't very well talk about his time with Black Knight, it wasn't exactly a conversation starter. And any stories of him and his team were a bit inappropriate to tell her too. When the doorbell rang an hour later Kobalt was actually relieved Nickole was here, even if only for a moment. But his mother beat him to the door and answered for him.

"Hi Mrs. Ward." Nickole said tossing Kobalt his duffel bag "I brought Kobalt's clothes and a few other things of his."

"Thanks." Kobalt nodded catching the bag.

"You've been such a big help already, I don't even know how to thank you." Seraphina said "Would you like to stay here instead? I bet this place beats the dorms at Haven by leagues."

"Really?" Kobalt and Nickole asked at the same time

"Of course, it's the least I can do as thanks." Sera smiled "Plus it's pretty obvious Kobalt is more than a bit uncomfortable here, perhaps you can help him adjust."

"You sure that's alright mom?" Kobalt asked

"Why wouldn't it be? It's not like you two are sharing a bed." She laughed

"No but…" Kobalt started

"Then it's settled." Sera said

"Let me just go grab my stuff from Haven then." Nickole said, still half stunned "Kobalt, care to give me a ride back?"

"A ride?" he asked confused

"Yeah, I borrowed your motorcycle." She said twirling his keys around with a mischievous look on her face. "There are no scratches on it, but I shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel again."

"You own a motorcycle?" his mother asked, before Kobalt could begin to worry about it her face lit up with a huge smile. "Well are you going to show me or not? I've always loved bikes."


	24. Chapter 24: Meeting the Competition

It was clear within a day that Nickole being there was making Kobalt incredibly more comfortable. Seraphina praised herself for finding such an easy way to help Kobalt adjust to being back home. And the young Huntress in training already seemed to feel comfortable around Sera, which was a huge relief to her. She was incredibly kind and polite, but not afraid at all of staying in the same house as her boyfriend _and_ his mother. From the sounds of it Nickole was the main reason Kobalt was standing here today, according to him without her he never would've gotten any of his memories back. And if she was as important to Kobalt as Sera thought, then she was determined to get to know this young girl.

"So Nickole tell me," she started at dinner the next night "What kind of person is my son? I've been trying to get some answers out of him but he's not giving me anything."

"Of course not, he's pretty stubborn at times." Nickole laughed "He's also pretty impulsive, reckless, and don't even get me started on his time management."

"You do know I'm right here?" Kobalt asked frustratingly waving his fork.

"But he's also kind, caring, noble, a good leader, and he has the occasional moment where he's incredibly funny." She continued

"You **do** know I'm right here." Kobalt stated again, this time his face flushed with embarrassment.

"Plus he's looks so cute when he's embarrassed." Nickole added cracking up. Sera barely managed to stifle a laugh as well, Kobalt seemed like the last person who would get embarrassed. But when his face lit up red it was such a contrast from what she'd seen of her son so far it was too funny. For the first time in years, Sera had no trouble sleeping that night. It was good to see her home filled with life for a change.

The next morning Sera woke to see Nickole getting ready to go out. Apparently she was heading into town to pick up some Dust from her family's local outpost.

"I can show you a nice little Dust shop not far from here." Sera offered when she heard the outpost was on the other side of the city. "We'll wait for Kobalt to wake up and all go together."

"No let him rest, he hasn't slept like this in weeks." Nickole had said "I peeked my head in early and he was sound asleep. It'd be cruel to wake him up now."

So she went out by herself that morning instead, leaving Sera home alone with her son. Kobalt however, slept in till early in the afternoon. And when he woke up he went straight for the gym, wearing nothing more than a pair of shorts. As much as she would've liked a chance to speak with him, it was a relief to see her son so at ease at home again. When he was young he had never touched that gym, but now he was taking too it like he went there every morning. Sera was sitting in the den reading student reports when the doorbell rang. She answered to see one of her third year students standing there, her silver hair styled into her usual curls on the right side of the head. Her white dress looked recently cleaned but her grey shawl had a few new rips along the edges.

"Luna?" Sera asked shocked to see a student at her home. "I thought you were out on a mission."

"I just got back," Luna smiled "I had to come see you first, you were the one who gave me that assignment. It's only right I give my report to you in person."

"Oh that can wait until later, come on in you must be tired." Sera offered "When did you get back?"

"This morning," Luna paused "I took some time to clean my dress before I came here."

"I noticed." Sera laughed

"Has something happened Professor Ward?" Luna asked "You seem different."

"I guess I would," Sera smiled "You wouldn't believe whose back."

Sera nudged her head towards the room where Kobalt was still working out, he was doing pull ups now and didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat.

"Oh my god Marek came back?" Luna asked stunned

"Marek, I thought he had my looks not his father's." Sera chuckled

"His father," Luna started trailing off. Sera could see her mind putting the pieces together. "No don't tell me that's-"

"My son has finally come home." Sera nodded as they walked towards the kitchen, Sera poured herself a glass of juice and offered one to Luna who was staring at Kobalt in awe.

"I can't believe it." Luna said "I always thought your son was, well…"

"Was what?" Sera asked

"Well it's just the way you used to act and talk sometimes, it sounded like your son was dead." Luna admitted taking the glass "And with the way that cloak wrapped around you some of the students started calling you the Ghost of Haven."

"I suppose it fit," Sera admitted "I really haven't been myself the past dozen years."

"Well I look forward to seeing what Professor Ward is really like." Luna smiled

"Oh it's not much different from usual, just a bit more cheery I guess." Sera laughed

"Well at the very least it's nice to see that cloak isn't wrapped around you like a shroud." Luna added "That dress is beautiful by the way."

"Oh thank you, I have a far too many like it." Sera admitted. She was about to ask Luna about the mission she had been on when Kobalt walked out of the gym. He was heading for the fridge and stopped in his tracks when he saw Luna was sitting with Sera.

"Oh, hello." He said awkwardly, which was to be expected since he was shirtless with a strange girl in the house.

"Where are my manners," Luna scolded herself as she stood up and extended her hand "I'm Luna Langlias, one of your mother's students."

"Kobalt." he said shaking her hand "Kobalt Ward now I guess."

"You guess?" Luna asked him

"Kobalt had amnesia the past few months, he didn't even remember his full name for a while." Sera explained "Kobalt, Luna here is one of my third year students. Probably one of the best in Haven."

"Well I wouldn't go that far." Luna waved her off "I've only just gotten back from a mission and came to give my report to Professor Ward."

"Well I won't keep you, I only came to get a drink. I'm going to take a dip in the pool, cool myself off." Kobalt told his mother before heading to the fridge. Not a moment later he grabbed a bottle out it and walked downstairs. Sera noticed Luna's eyes following him the whole down, and lingering on the stairs for a moment.

"So how'd the mission go?" Sera asked when Luna sat back down.

"You know me, I don't come back unless it's done perfectly." Luna smiled

Nickole had spent far too long finding her way through Mistral, she still couldn't believe how complicated the city was. Sure it was a different kingdom, but it really should've taken a note form Vale about street planning. And she had wasted walking through some areas of the city she'd rather go through with Kobalt. Mistral was a beautiful city, but it would have been nice to explore it with him instead of alone.

 _Oh well,_ Nickole thought as she walked around the back of his house. _Too late now, he'd probably start remembering everything anyway. Wouldn't be as fun if he'd already been to all those places._

She was just entering the back yard that overlooked most of the city when she heard the sound of waster splashing. She turned her head to see Kobalt swimming laps in pool, she didn't even know he knew how to swim. Of course he probably didn't either. She walked over to the end of the pool and poked his head before he could turn around for another lap. His reaction was priceless, he practically jumped out of the water.

"Hey, how long you been there?" Kobalt asked after recovering from his surprise.

"Few seconds, I'd jump in and join you but I didn't bring a swimsuit." Nickole smiled "Neither did you actually, where'd you-"

"My father left a few behind." Kobalt said climbing out of the pool.

"Got it." Nickole said letting the conversation die. She couldn't believe it when he told her his father hadn't been home in eight years. And the fact that he only checked in every few months really bothered her. Sure her own dad had a few, okay tons of faults, but he was there for his family when he needed to be. He wouldn't just abandon them all if she, Auburn or Aurelian disappeared.

Kobalt's mother on the other hand was just like he had described his parents when he didn't even remember them. After Nickole had told her everything that had happened to Kobalt, his mother had hugged her and treated her like a daughter. She had barely known Nickole for more than an hour, but she had accepted her regardless. And the fact that she was okay with Nickole staying right down the hall from Kobalt, and a floor below her was still shocking. Hell everything about all this was shocking to her, she could only imagine how Kobalt was holding up.

"You know we should probably get back to Haven and do some training for the tournament." Kobalt said while toweling off.

"You think?" Nickole asked "We did a lot with Midori back at my family's estate. Why not relax for a bit, I'm sure you've got enough going on in that head of yours."

"I'm fine, and at the very least I want to brief the guys on a few team attacks I've come up with for the first two rounds." Kobalt said "And we need to pick whose fighting in the second round and the finals."

"You say that like you know we'll make it to the finals." Nickole noticed

"Do you think we won't?" he grinned, "Besides I'd still like to plan this out in advance."

"Well it's obvious who one of them will, be." Nickole said "You're the best fighter on our team. You've already earned a name for yourself after that duel with the headmaster."

"That was no duel." Kobalt laughed "Leandros is weird, if he took that a bit more seriously he'd have kicked my ass."

"Still, the short time I was there tons of students were asking who you were." Nickole added "I hear they've got a betting pool and whether or not our team makes it far in the tournament."

"We have any money in that pool?" Kobalt asked as a wicked smile flashed across his face.

"Should we?"

"All I'm saying is it wouldn't hurt to make some cash off this." He laughed, "Come on, I'm going to throw on some clothes, lets head to Haven and find the guys. I want to run some things by them."

A short ride later they were walking through Haven's campus looking for Tristan and Justin. Nickole figured they were in the arena so they started making their way there. They were walking down a small path sided by a few trees when Kobalt stopped in his tracks and squinted his eyes.

"See something?" Nickole asked him

"Someone." Kobalt answered, Nickole was about to ask when she spotted a girl down the path with a bright white dress and silver hair.

"Oh Kobalt!" the girl waved as she walked over to them

"You know her?" Nickole whispered to Kobalt

"One of my mom's students, she stopped by the house to talk to her earlier." He whispered back

"I must say it was nice to finally meet Professor Ward's son." The girl said as she walked up to them "I think I've seen that picture on her desk a hundred times now."

"Well I look nothing like I do in that picture." Kobalt said

"No you look like Marek in that photo and like your mother now." the girl laughed, then she noticed Nickole "I'm sorry where are my manners, I'm Luna Langlias."

"Nickole Gareth." Nickole said with a smile, _Langlias? Where have I heard that name before?_ Nickole thought

"You must be on Kobalt's team, his mother mentioned he led a team over at Beacon." Luna said, Nickole was about to tell her she was also his girlfriend when she looked into her eyes. For the briefest of moments she found herself staring daggers back at a girl she had just met for reasons she didn't know.

"Yeah," Nickole breathed, tension between the two of them building up. Yet Kobalt didn't seem to notice any of it. In fact he raised a hand to his head in pain, like he had a headache.

"Well I really should get going," Luna said breaking the stare down. "Tons of work to do. Ta."

Without another word Luna walked off, leaving Nickole wondering what on Remnant that had all been about.

"I don't like her." Nickole said once she was out of earshot "There's something off about her."

"Really? She seemed perfectly normal to me." Kobalt said, hand still raised to his head.

"You okay?" Nickole asked him "You seem out of it."

"I'm fine," he tried to smile "Just some things coming back walking down this way."

"You sure you're okay? Last time something came back…"

"These aren't bad memories." He assured her, "Just a bit of an overload really, my mom took me to Haven a lot when she needed something out of the office."

"Alright, but let me know if it's too much." She told him

"No offense, but there's not much you can really do to help." Kobalt said sadly "I wish there was but it's not like you've got a rune that makes memories coming back less painful."

"Still."

"Come on the pains already passing, let's go find the guys." Kobalt said slipping his hand back in hers. Still something didn't sit right with Nickole, she was still having a hard time believing everything that she'd seen at the Tundra Base. How was Kobalt not losing his mind? Maybe he'd talk with one of the guys about it, she just had to hope they were in the arena. And sure enough they found Justin sitting in the stands when they entered, and if he was here was there Tristan couldn't be too far behind.

"Hey man, where's Tristan?" Kobalt asked as they approached his bench.

"Right there." Justin said pointing to the empty seat next to him. Nickole and Kobalt sat on the other side of the space from Justin, forming the usual body block they did to spare Tristan. The second they sat down he un-cloaked in the space between them. He was leaned forward and paying particular attention to the match going on in the arena.

"Girls here bothering you like at Beacon?" Nickole asked him

"Yeah, only for once they're not after me." Tristan said "They just know I'm Kobalt's friend and have been hounding me trying to get to him."

"Me?" Kobalt asked "Why?"

"They've all heard about your duel with the headmaster." Tristan said "You've got a fan club."

"Seriously?" Kobalt sighed

"Did you tell them he has a girlfriend?" Nickole asked

"When has that mattered with some girls?" Tristan asked, Nickole noticed he still wasn't taking his eyes off the arena.

"What are you even looking at?" she asked him

"Him." He said pointing down into the arena, where two people were fighting.

Standing without his blade even draw was a guy with spiky white hair who looked eerily familiar. Over a dark green jacket he wore a combat harness with too many pouches for Nickole to count from this distance. He had dark grey pants with matching boots on, and when he turned Nickole saw a blue sash with Mistral's symbol tied around his arm. The blade he carried was kept in what looked like a large metal sheath attached to his harness.

"He's something else," Tristan said "He's been brushing off opponents like they're tissue paper."

"Does he look familiar to anyone else?" Kobalt asked

"Wait till he attacks." Justin said

As if on cue, the boy dashed forward towards his opponent, when he unsheathed his katana it was glowing green and arcing green lighting to the ground and its sheath. One slash and the girl he was against fell to the ground, her Aura depleted in a single strike. The white haired boy walked over, helped her up, and said something no one else could hear. The girl rolled her eyes before laughing and lightly smacking the boy in the chest.

"That attack, did you two see it?" Tristan asked calmly

"Plasma." Kobalt nodded "Just like Midori."

"I think it's a safe bet to say that's his son." Tristan said

"You think?" Nickole asked sarcastically.

"We'll have to watch out for him," Tristan said "If he's anything like his father-"

"Then it will be up to Kobalt to take him down in the tournament." Justin finished

"I'm sure Nickole could take him on too." Kobalt argued

"If he wasn't that fast, then maybe." Nickole admitted

"You're just as fast." Kobalt added

"With my runes, did you see him using anything other than his legs?" Nickole said, "Maybe if I got a few lucky hits off, but like you said if he's anything like Midori then I'm in trouble."

"We'll find out in the tournament." Tristan said

"Speaking of which, we all need to talk." Kobalt said

"Dorm room?" Tristan asked

"We've got some ideas for the tournament." Nickole nodded, among other things.

A/N

So for those of you who don't know I am also on Deviantart, where I recently commissioned an artist to draw KNGT. He did an amazing job and if you want to see what the team looks I'm under the same name on Deviantart and you can find it there. I'll also probably get around to editing the picture later so I can use it as the new cover art for the story. And if you like the art go over to the artist's page and take a look at what else he's got, there is a link to his page in the description of the picture.


	25. Chapter 25: Coming to Terms

The dorm room at Haven wasn't too much different from their one at Beacon, but with Nickole staying at Kobalt's place it was almost entirely empty. Justin barely brought anything other than his armor, clothes, ammo, and scroll with him. Whereas Tristan decided he needed a few more things. Mostly extra clothes, but he also brought his picture of him and Amber along with a couple books. Frankly Tristan missed all the decorations and stuff they had in their room back at Beacon, this felt like they were staying in a hotel room. When the whole team got back Tristan plopped down on his bed while Justin and Nickole sat down on the only two chairs in the room. Kobalt seemed to prefer leaning against the door on the other hand.

"So what are these ideas you two have come up with?" Tristan asked "Some crazy ones I hope."

"I'm sending you all a list of combo attacks." Kobalt chuckled pulling out his scroll "These shouldn't be too difficult for us to pull off, though a few are going to need some seriously good timing."

"Any in particular?" Justin asked

"Take a look at the first one." Kobalt nodded, Tristan loaded up the message with all the attacks Kobalt had come up with. He read over the first one, his part in it wasn't too complicated, but Nickole and Justin would have to time themselves perfectly.

"Wait a minute," Tristan said as he read down the list "What's up with these names?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about, Attack Pattern Alpha through Gamma." Tristan said pointing out the blandness of the names.

"Well I'm sorry, I've only spent most of my life in military bases." Kobalt added sarcastically before rolling his eyes "I'm not the most creative person around. If you think you can do better then be my guest."

"Bad move Ward." Tristan said shaking his head and making a mental note to spend his free time doing just that later. "Bad move."

"Moving on from that, who's going to be in the doubles portion of the tournament?" Kobalt asked

"You." the three of them said at once.

"Well there goes putting it to a vote," Kobalt sighed "You sure?"

"Yeah, dude you're the best fighter I've ever seen," Tristan admitted "And you're going to want Nickole backing you up out there."

"You don't want to be out there?" Nickole asked him

"I'm not a swordsman, I'm a sniper." Tristan said "Even with your training I'd be useless past the first round."

"What about Justin?" Kobalt asked

"No offense Kobalt but we don't mesh as a pair." Justin said plainly "And we all know I'm best at fighting Grimm, not other people."

"You and Nickole have synergy, and not just because you're a couple." Tristan reminded him "Even back during the first few weeks of school it was like you two could read each other's minds."

"Okay but what about the finals?" Kobalt asked

"YOU!" they all shouted at him.

"But Nickole could-"

"What part of best fighter don't you get?" Tristan asked him

"I'm not the best." Kobalt argued

"Dude you took on Nickole's father and the Headmaster here," Tristan laughed "And both of them were impressed by you."

"That thing with Leandros wasn't a real duel." Kobalt continued to argue. "Are you guys sure?"

"Okay, I didn't want to have to use this but your mother told me something after you went to bed last night." Nickole started "She told me when you were young you wanted nothing more than to win the Vytal Tournament. She told me whenever she took you there you'd look at the finalists and say 'I'm going to stand there someday.'"

"That settles it, it's got to be you man." Tristan agreed

"Alright fine, at least we got that out of the way now." Kobalt sighed "We've got a little over a month to get those combos down, and we've got our first real mission in a week."

"First real mission and the dance the night before." Nickole smiled

"Well you sure seem excited about that." Tristan noted

"Well why shouldn't I be?" she asked "I'm going with the most eligible guy here according to you. How many girls did you say were asking you for his number?"

"At least you have someone to go with." Tristan said

"And you don't?" Kobalt asked

"Amber's in Vale, how's she supposed to get here?" Tristan asked "Airship ticket prices shot through the roof when they announced Haven was hosting."

"Give me a minute." Nickole said pulling out her scroll. "Hey Amber, I hear your having trouble getting to Mistral for the Vytal Festival. Well, if you don't mind flying with the paramilitary group known as my family, I can get you on a ship here tomorrow. Yes I'm sure, you can stay with me at my family's outpost here in Mistral it'll be fun. I'll text you the address in a few and make another call. Just tell them I sent you. Oh please I'm going to need some normal company for a bit, you're doing me a favor. See ya then. "

"Is this really happening?" Tristan asked "You can do that?"

"You can thank me later." Nickole said looking smug

"Kobalt, I take back every mean thing I've said about your girlfriend." Tristan laughed

"And I'll continue to ignore your terrible jokes." Kobalt sighed

"So is that everything?" Nickole asked "Or was there more Kobalt?"

"Read over those combo attacks is really all I've got if you're all sure about the finals." Kobalt shrugged

"So what I'm hearing is, we have the rest of the day off?" Tristan suggested "Food anyone?"

The next day Nickole left to get some things ready for Amber at her family's outpost, so Kobalt apparently decided that was the time he'd hang out with Tristan and Justin. Together the three of them decided to explore Mistral. It turned out Kobalt remembered enough to keep them from getting lost, but he wasn't giving them a tour anytime soon. Which was fine by Tristan, he liked getting to know a city, learning its layout. He knew Vale like the back of his hand, and he knew half a dozen building with lines of sight covering most of the city. Already Tristan was instinctively spotting out potential vantage points throughout Mistral, though he tried to tone it down as they explored some of the shops downtown. Justin eventually remembered he needed more Dust, clicking off a reminder in Tristan's head that he was low on fuel for his rifle. They found a shop faster than Tristan thought they would, and soon Justin was searching though the store's collection of Dust for all the variations he used in his ammo. After grabbing a large enough canister to last him the next few months, Tristan wandered to the back of the sore to find some magazines. Kobalt in the meantime was talking with the shop owner about buying gear to make ammo for his pistol. Tristan had just reached for the latest copy of Huntsman Weekly when his scroll rang, Amber was calling.

"Hey what's up?" Tristan asked "Was your flight alright?"

"It was fine I'm with Nickole already, are you alone right now?" She asked him

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"It's Nickole, she's been hiding it well but she's worried about Kobalt." Amber told him "She's worried he's not handling his memories as well as he's telling her."

"Yeah, I've been wondering the same thing." Tristan admitted "But it's weird the guy seems perfectly fine."

"Just in case can you try to see if he's not doing okay?" Amber asked "Nickole's really worried."

"Damn, she **_has_** been hiding it well. If she's asking me it must be bad." Tristan realized "She's seemed as fine as he is. Yeah, I'll see what I can do."

"Great, Nickole says thanks." Amber said

"Wow that's a first." Tristan laughed "I'll see you later alright?"

"You better." Amber warned before closing the call.

Tristan just smiled and walked over to the counter where Kobalt was still talking to the shopkeeper. Sitting on the counter was a small set of tools Tristan recognized as being used for making Dust ammo, though he was used to seeing Justin's giant set.

"No, no, no, I guarantee these tools would sell for half that price at the shop down by the docks." Kobalt haggled "But that's a good ways away and I don't feel like making the trip. Besides I like you, you just helped my friend get his hands on some rare Dust he likes. So if you bump that down by thirty lien, you've got a deal."

"Alright fine," the shopkeeper caved, "Ninety lien for the set and the Dust together."

"Thank you," Kobalt said handing him the cards "Have a good day."

Tristan shook his head as he approached the counter and handed the canister to the shopkeeper. Tristan didn't see any difference in the price between here and Vale so unlike Kobalt he made no arguments and slid the owner the lien. Once they were outside the shop Tristan took out his rifle, popped open the cap in the stock, and refilled it with more Dust. He'd have enough to last through the rest of the school year if he didn't waste too much.

"You know I always wondered how you powered that thing." Kobalt said as Tristan put his rifle away "I've never seen you load so much as a battery into that thing."

"Rechargeable Dust powered core in the stock." Tristan confirmed "This baby will get a little over two hundred shots per charge. That's if I don't use its powered blade form though."

"Well I think I've only seen you use it once." Kobalt said "You leave the power off in training, so you should be fine."

"What about you?" Tristan asked pointing to the large bag of Dust he was carrying "How much ammo do you think you can get out of all that?"

"Assuming I don't mess up I could probably get a few hundred rounds out of it all. I think." Kobalt shook his head "I'm not really sure, Black Knight used to make all my ammo for me at their bases."

"I still can't get over that place man," Tristan admitted "I've seen Atlas bases less advanced and outfitted. What about you?"

"What about me?" Kobalt asked

"You blacked out on us for a minute before we hit the base," Tristan told him "And then all your memories started coming back and you haven't seemed bothered by it since your surgery."

"Your point?" Kobalt asked

"My point is you should be freaking out about everything you've seen, I was freaking out just listening to you talk about it." Tristan quietly yelled at his friend "How are you really handling this, cause I know you're not telling us everything."

"Nickole asked you to do this didn't she?" Kobalt surmised

" _Nickole_ didn't ask me to do anything." Tristan said, it wasn't technically a lie, Amber had done the actual asking. Justin for one didn't seem to be hearing any of what was going on, he was walking up to a street vendor to buy something.

"Well if I can't fool you I must not be doing a very good job." Kobalt sighed taking a seat on a nearby bench. To a small degree he still seemed like himself, but there was a darker tone to it. Like he was there but not at the same time.

"How bad is it really?" Tristan asked sitting down next to him

"It's not all that bad honestly, just hurts." Kobalt tried to convince him. "Every time something comes back it's like a jackhammer on my skull. But sometimes I see something I wish I hadn't."

"Like what?"

"What do you think? I've gotten back memories of training so intense I think Midori would walk away from it. Missions they sent me on where I nearly died, you name it." Kobalt went on, leading Tristan to believe it was more than just sometimes. "You know all these scars I have, I didn't get them from a puppy. Imagine the kind of stuff that's done this to me."

"I can't, I can't even come close to imagining that." Tristan said "But you're not on your own man, you can come to us for help."

"No offense but how on Remnant can you help?" Kobalt nearly shouted "Can you stop me from having nightmares about all the things I've seen, or done?"

"I wish, it'd be a simple fix if I could." Tristan admitted "But there's got to be something we can do."

"Well let me know if you can think of something, cause I've got nothing." Kobalt sighed

"Hey at least you've got your family back." Tristan pointed out.

"But it's a family I haven't known for years, I can't just expect things to be normal again." Kobalt said "Plus, I don't even know what to talk about with my mom, Black Knight is off the table for a variety of reasons. I can only really talk about things that have happened in the past few months. That's not much."

"Who cares if you don't have any stories to tell her?" Tristan asked "Dude, when I found out you had amnesia and saw what you could do despite that, I figured you probably spent your life fighting. People like that don't usually still have a family."

"Are you going somewhere with this?" Kobalt asked him

"Yes, it doesn't matter if you don't have anything to talk about, I guarantee your mom's just glad to have you back." Tristan finished "And after everything that's happened, isn't reuniting with her after all these years better than having something to talk about?"

Kobalt's face softened back up close to the one Tristan was used to seeing, the face of a guy ready to take on anything, the guy who would laugh in the face of Grimm and people alike. Justin was returning from the street vendor holding a bright blue popsicle, he motioned for Kobalt to take it.

"Umm, thanks?" Kobalt raised an eyebrow

"Whenever I used to get upset my dad would buy me one of those." Justin explained

"I don't remember dad doing that." Tristan said before he could think.

"Not our dad, **my** dad." Justin said turning back to Kobalt "No matter what happened it always made me feel better."

Something about it seemed to make Kobalt feel better too, because for a moment he turned back to the guy Tristan had met during initiation. His eyes lit up and his smile grew back to what it used to be.

"Thanks man," Kobalt said, after nearly inhaling the popsicle.

"And hey if it makes you feel any better look at it this way," Tristan added "As a Huntsman your standing for the exact opposite of what Black Knight does. Even with all the things they've done to you, you've become stronger and are using it all against them. If nothing else at least you get the satisfaction of spiting them."

"Using everything they've done to spite them?" Kobalt grinned "I can get on board with that."

"Come on, now's as good a time as any to head back," Tristan said patting Kobalt on the back, "We'll help you with making that ammo."

"Yeah, I think I'm going to need it." Kobalt said getting up. No sooner had he stood up then Carmen walked out of the store next to them.

"Oh, um hi guys." she squeaked upon seeing them "Out for the day?"

"Yeah picking up some supplies." Kobalt said

"That's nice, looking forward to the dance?" Carmen asked them

"You bet, Nickole was able to pull some strings and get my girlfriend here from Vale." Tristan smiled

"W-what about you Justin?" she asked "Are you going with anyone?"

"No why?" Justin asked her, dense as ever.

"No reason." Carmen said her face turning as red as her hair as she turned to leave. "Bye."

"You don't think she has a thing for him?" Kobalt whispered in Tristan's ear

"Yep." Tristan nodded, somewhat in awe

"But when did she…?" Kobalt trailed off.

"Remember initiation?" Tristan quietly asked "Justin saved her back then, and again when you and Nickole took that swan dive off a cliff."

"Poor girl, she couldn't have picked someone more dense." Kobalt shrugged "Should we maybe-"

"I'm done playing love doctor." Tristan cut him off "I've gotten enough shit setting you and Nickole up."

"Speaking of which, I could use some help." Kobalt admitted

"Oh Dust, what now?" Tristan laughed

"Nothing bad don't worry, but I need a suit for the dance." Kobalt said "And I have no idea what I should be buying."

"Kobalt my good man," Tristan grinned throwing his arm around his friend "You've come to the right guy."

"Please don't make me regret this." Kobalt sighed

"Come on I think I saw a tailor back this way." Tristan said moving on from the square they were standing in. The tailor's shop was completely empty when they walked in, and the owner seemed glad for the business.

"How can I help you gentlemen?" he asked as they walked in

"My friend here needs a suit," Tristan said shoving Kobalt forward "Special occasion and he's got nothing to wear for formal events."

"I see, students?" the old tailor asked

"Yep, and my friend here needs to look good for his date." Tristan laughed

"I see." The tailor smiled "Well I think I can help you out."

"Now I'm no expert with things like this, but personally I think something military styled would work best for him. He takes after the Atlas side of the family." Tristan recommended. At the mention of this the tailor began sizing up Kobalt, no doubt picturing him in a variety of different suits.

"Yes perhaps you're right." He said "Please follow me young man."

He led Kobalt back into a different room and closed the door, Tristan sat on a small chair for the next few hours as Kobalt was fitted for his suit. Justin on the other hand decided to head back to Haven and start making more ammo. Tristan had all but fallen asleep when the door opened and Kobalt walked out sporting a suit that made Tristan think twice about the one he had brought for the dance. He was wearing a black overcoat with a grey undercoat and blue tie. The overcoat had grey lining on the sides while the undercoat had black lining. Below that he was wearing black pants with a pair of military styled formal boots. The only thing that seemed to be missing was a pair of officer's bars on his collar.

"Well Mr. Ward I must say, you'll have a hard time keeping the ladies away now." Tristan said as his friend walked out.

"I'm sorry did you say Ward?" the tailor asked

"Yeah, why?" Kobalt asked

"I know the family name, most of the tailors in Mistral do." The tailor said "The Ward family is on a list of recipients of the Vytal Star commendation."

"The what?" Kobalt asked confused

"It's a posthumous award to families of those who gave their life in the Great War. In one battle in particular." Tristan informed his friend, his knowledge of military history popping into his head. But he was still fuzzy on the details.

"In that battle a small group of Mistral soldiers who opposed the idea of siding with Mantle held off a large force preventing them from attacking a settlement that was being evacuated." The tailor continued moving behind his desk in the back "None of them returned, but they held out long enough for Vale to evacuate the settlement and push Mantle out of Sanus."

"Someone from my family died in that battle?" Kobalt asked

"More than one person, the majority of the group was made up of the Ward mercenary force." The tailor said coming out from behind the desk with a small box in his hands. "Led by your ancestor, Fenrir Ward."

The old man opened the box, and even from where he was Tristan could make out the two silver wreathed stars within.

"There are many people who are very grateful to your family, they stood against the emperor during the war. Something most people in the outer settlements couldn't do." the tailor said holding up the twin stars. "May I?"

Kobalt merely nodded, even Tristan was a little surprised this was happening. The old man pinned the two medals to Kobalt's collar, a final addition to the suit that made it look perfect for Kobalt. When they walked out a few minutes later after Kobalt had changed out of the suit, paid for it, and had it shipped to his house. Tristan couldn't help but notice a different look on his face. He seemed, proud and on top of that determined. Like he had something to live up to now. He was about to point it when his scroll went off, he had a message from Amber.

"Oh crap, we need to get back to Haven now." Tristan told Kobalt as he started running on ahead

"What's wrong?" Kobalt asked catching up

"Dunno, but Amber said there's a problem."


	26. Chapter 26: Lunar Cycle

"You really think Tristan will be able to get the truth out of him?" Nickole asked once Amber hung up.

"If he can get through Justin's thick skull he can get through anyone's." Amber laughed

"Thank you." Nickole sighed

"You're really worried about him huh?" Amber asked her.

"No I'm only terrified that my first ever boyfriend is having night terrors, pain from memories returning and the stress of knowing what happened to him." Nickole said sarcastically "Oh, and that he isn't telling me anything. Did I mention the part where I don't think he's telling me?"

"Ooookay, and how are you handling all this?" Amber asked

"How do you think?" Nickole asked sliding down off her chair "I'm freaking out, I'm surprised I've been keeping Kobalt from noticing."

"Oh come on your not **that** bad, if everything's as bad as you say then I think you're holding up pretty well." Amber told her "Besides, you've got enough on your plate, he's your first boyfriend."

"I like him, a lot. I just wish he was a little more normal sometimes," Nickole admitted "I mean come on, child soldier? I don't know how to handle that as his friend, let alone his girlfriend. This is nuts we only just started dating before we all found that out."

"You just need to be there for him, Dust knows he needs your help more than anyone else's." Amber added "Tristan will be good for dealing with the baggage and the darker side of what he must be going through. You need to be there to make him feel like a normal person."

"Used to be Tristan was the one helping him feel normal and I was helping with the baggage." Nickole sighed "Damn winds."

"Yea but right now, he's not going to want to talk with you about all this crazy stuff. Not until he's got his head on straight." Amber added "You're someone he wants to keep separate from that so he feels relaxed when he's with you."

"How do you even know all this?" Nickole asked

"Tristan and I have been dating for years, you think nothing crazy has happened in that time?" Amber asked "Trust me, there are things a guy doesn't want to talk about with his girlfriend. Tristan has never, not even once, told me about all the trouble he goes through with other girls. He doesn't want to talk about that and a thousand other things with me."

"Your boyfriend hasn't spent eleven years with-"

"Gonna stop you right there." Amber cut her off "Relax, I know he doesn't seem like it but Tristan can handle whatever going on in Kobalt's head, he's got a knack for it really. Now I need to help you deal with all this."

"And how on Remnant are you going to do that?" Nickole asked

"Simple, were going to have some girl time." Amber smiled

"Never use that phrase again." Nickole told her darkly. Her mind was already flashing back to last month when JADE used that as part of their ploy to get her and Kobalt together.

"Would you shut up and come on." Amber said standing up "You do know we need something to wear to the dance right? I don't know about you but I don't have anything nice enough."

"Alright fine let's go," Nickole caved, at least Amber wasn't like JADE. "Let me just grab my, damnit."

"What?"

"I left my wallet back at Kobalt's home." Nickole realized as she grabbed her jacket. "It's not far, just a small detour. Across town."

"Wait, wallet? Do you not own a purse?" Amber asked

"No. Why, should I?"

"Other than the obvious benefits of not needing to stuff things in your pocket, it's so much easier for carrying said stuff around." Amber said pulling half a dozen different things out of a bright red purse "Plus it's actually socially acceptable for girls to carry purses everywhere. Tristan used to complain so much whenever he had leave his backpack somewhere but me and my little purse could go right on through."

"Okay, I've done fine without a purse all these years." Nickole told her confused why this was such a big deal.

"How many of those years were spent at your estate?" Amber asked "I guarantee a single day living like you're not rich will make you wish you had one."

"Can we just go get my wallet now?"

Seraphina was in the middle of grading exams in the kitchen when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it to see Nickole standing there with another girl with short brown hair.

"Hi Mrs. Ward, just came to pick up my wallet." Nickole said "I must've dropped it out of my pocket when I got up this morning."

"Oh its fine come right on in." Sera said opening the door all the way for the two girls. "I think I saw it by the couch actually."

"Thanks, can't believe I forgot it I'm usually so much better about that." Nickole said heading for the den.

"This wouldn't have happened if you owned a purse." The other girl teased

"I'm sorry I don't think we've been introduced." Sera said turning to the new girl "I'm Seraphina Ward, are you a friend of Nickole's?"

"Yeah my names Amber, I'm also Tristan's girlfriend but I think that title's a bit worn out at this point." She laughed

"Tristan, he was the one with the lighter hair right?" Sera asked, she had only met the rest of Kobalt's friends once. Nickole was the only one to stop by the house so far. "Kind of-"

"A ham, thinks he funny?" Amber asked, Sera nodded "Yup that's him, the things our men think of themselves."

"Don't even get me started." Sera sighed thinking back to Marek when he was young.

"But Kobalt seems nice," Amber added "I've only really met him twice, but despite the whole amnesia thing he seems like a great guy."

"Well he's getting past the amnesia now, so hopefully he'll get even better." Nickole said coming back as she slipped her wallet into her pocket.

"All set?" Amber asked

"Yup, let's go."

"Where are you two heading?" Sera asked

"We're heading out to pick out dresses for the dance." Nickole said "Actually would you care to join us? I don't know about Amber but I don't really know where any good stores are around here."

"I'd love to, just let me grab my purse." Sera said heading for her room

"Told you." Amber hummed

"Oh shut up." Nickole quipped

"Come on," Sera said opening the door "I know just the place."

Fifteen minutes later Sera was leading the two girls into a small store at the edge of the commercial district. The second she walked through the doors memories of being here over twenty years ago flooded her mind. This was where she bought the dress she wore to her own dance. It felt like so much longer ago than it really was, looking back so much had changed since her first year at Haven.

"Mrs. Ward, you okay?" Nickole asked, "You're zoning out on us."

"Hm? Oh yes I'm fine, just thinking back to when I was your age." She smiled "I still remember going to the dance with Marek all those years ago."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's he like?" Nickole asked "Kobalt doesn't even remotely want to talk about him."

"What's Marek like?" Sera hummed, how to answer that question? "When I met him I guess he was a little like Kobalt is now, kind, smart, caring. But unlike his son he took his time growing up over the years, I think Haven did a number for that."

"How'd you two meet? It sounds like you knew him before Haven." Amber noted

"I told I was from Atlas right?" Sera asked "Well I met him when I was fourteen, Marek came to see my father."

"Why did he need to see your father?"

"My maiden name is Grace, you should recognize it Nickole." Sera hinted

"Grace? As in Sterling Grace?" Nickole asked

"Who?" Amber asked a confused look on her face

"My father is the premier weapons expert in Atlas, and head of Graceful Engineering." Sera explained "His great grandfather made a deal with Marek's ages ago to help make every Ward a weapon. It was only a matter of time before Marek came to us. But enough about me, were here for you two. Let's find you some dresses."

It didn't take long for Amber to find a dress for herself, ten minutes after they started searching she came out of the fitting room with a sky blue strapless dress on. She didn't even wait for Sera or Nickole's opinion before walking to the counter and purchasing it. Nickole on the other hand was taking much longer, Sera could tell she had no experience buying clothes whatsoever. In her frustration the young Huntress in training practically collapsed on a chair after changing out of the last dress she had tried on.

"Why don't you let me find something?" Sera suggested, giving the girl a moment to relax. Sera wandered around the store until a single dress caught her eye, her gut practically screamed at her to grab the dress. She walked back over to Nickole with it in hand and nudged her into the dressing room. A few short minutes later Nickole walked out wearing a beautiful light grey evening gown with gold embroidering around the chest. With her hair down she looked even more amazing.

"Wow, Kobalt isn't going to know what hit him." Amber laughed

"Really, it looks that good?" Nickole asked looking at herself in the mirror.

"Really," Sera said, glad to have been here to see it. "In fact I'd say it's perfect."

"And I thought I would be turning heads at the dance." Amber chuckled, Sera was about to say she still would went she heard her scroll go off. She pulled it out of her purse to see a message from Leandros titled 'Problem'.

"Looks like I have to go," Sera sighed as she stood up and made for the exit "It was nice meeting you Amber, enjoy the rest of the day girls."

"Thanks for coming." Nickole said turning back to the dressing room, "And, thanks for helping me out."

"Now we just need to buy you a purse." Amber teased

"Oh for the love of the wind if it will shut you up then fine!" Nickole shouted from the dressing room.

Sera laughed as she left for Haven, and she had to admit it was nice to get to know Nickole. But whatever Leandros wanted couldn't be good, the headmaster was rarely called her in on her free time. If something was making him message her on a Friday afternoon, it must be big.

Nickole let Amber drag her between a few different stores to look at purses, in the end she convinced Nickole to buy a small white purse and that was the end of it. With that out of the way they had nothing left to do in town. Their dresses were being sent to the Gareth compound where Amber was staying, and they both had everything they needed until then so they wound up just wandering around Mistral for an hour or so. Nickole was just about to suggest heading to Haven to see the guys when she felt someone staring at her.

"Well if it isn't Ms. Gareth." a girl's voice called out behind her. Nickole turned to see the girl she'd met at Haven with Kobalt the other day, Luna something?

"Luna right, what are you out for?" Nickole asked cautiously, this girl had seriously rubbed her the wrong way when they'd met. And even now she could feel the tension in the air between them.

"Oh just taking a stroll, picking up some supplies and whatnot," Luna said "And you? Wasting your money on useless junk like that purse?"

"Hey that purse is nice and goes well with her." Amber said coming to her defense.

"No point playing nice then," Nickole muttered "Look let's just go Amber, no point staying here with her."

"I must say I can't see what Kobalt is doing with someone like you." Luna sneered as they turned around to leave "So rude to leave without saying goodbye, perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised given your family."

"Excuse me?" Nickole questioned turning on her heels, the remark about her family was not what she had been expecting. Nickole had a feeling this was bound to happen after Tristan's new trouble with girls, but she didn't imagine any girl after Kobalt would insult her family as well.

"You heard me," Luna said calmly "He deserves so much better than some spoiled brat playing at being a Huntress. Is that what you high class people do when you're bored? Pretend to help the world."

"Look I don't know who you think you are, but you had better watch what you say about my family." Nickole said getting up in her face, "So instead of insulting someone you don't know, why don't you save your opinions for someone who gives a damn?"

"Woah Nickole, take it easy." Amber said grabbing her shoulder "This isn't worth starting a fight over."

"What would you even know about it?" Nickole asked shaking Amber off, "Do you even know what my family does? What makes you think you're better than us?"

"Because unlike you my family wasn't born rich and famous." Luna nearly spat, "I had to work for everything my family has now. We had nothing before I started entering tournaments to provide for them."

"Langlias, I thought I heard your name before." Nickole realized "You think winning all those tournaments makes you better than everyone else don't you?"

"Not everyone, just you." Luna glared

"Wanna bet, why don't we settle this the way my family does." Nickole said "Unless you're afraid to fight a first year Beacon student."

"Nickole I really don't think this is a good idea," Amber tried to reason "Let's just go."

"What do you say? I bet the arena at Haven is empty right now, no one around to see you get your pretentious ass handed to you." Nickole challenged.

"Perhaps you should've listened to your friend there." Luna said, a smug look on her face.

"I really don't think this is a good idea." Amber said as Nickole changed into her armor.

"Too late," Nickole shrugged "That bitch has some nerve saying all that."

"So what, it's not like Kobalt would even consider going around with someone like that right?" Amber asked

"That's not the point, though I'd be lying if I didn't think she was after something along those lines." Nickole muttered

"Hey I've been dealing with this longer than you have, let it go."

"Amber did Tristan tell you about what he's been dealing with lately?" Nickole asked

"No, what's been going on?"

"Apparently all the girls here were asking Tristan about Kobalt after he fought the headmaster and won." Nickole told her "They were more interested in him than Tristan, what does that tell you."

"That you really need to go out there a knock this one around for a while." Amber sighed "And here I was worried you weren't thinking this out."

"Honestly that's not even why I'm doing this. I don't give a damn if she's after Kobalt or not." Nickole said "No one talks about my family like that. And for the record I think everything out."

"Well that's not true." Amber scoffed "Remember how you were telling me about how Kobalt stopped you from going after Black Knight?"

"Shut up, are you my friend or not?" Nickole asked

"The only one of em with any sense." Amber nodded as she turned around to go back to the benches "I hope you know what you're doing."

 _You and me both_ , Nickole thought once she was gone.

When she walked out into the arena, the first thing Nickole noticed Luna was still wearing the same dress as before. The only difference now was that she was holding what looked like a baton in her hand. Nickole had to remind herself that armor wasn't what most other Huntress' wore, and not to underestimate her without it. The second thing she noticed, was that for some reason the stands were filling in with students. How had word spread that this was happening? _Doesn't matter_ , Nickole told herself, _just more people to watch me kick her ass_.

"It's not too late to walk away." Luna taunted from across the arena

"Fat chance." Nickole said as she raised Damocles in rifle from, she fired off a quick burst as a test. Sure enough Luna reacted in an instant, the baton she was carrying suddenly grew a blade of energy and a trio of small silver orbs formed around her. One of the orbs expanded and blocked the shots.

"How uncivilized," Luna laughed "Is that how Gareths say hello?"

"Are insults are you have, or is there actually a Huntress buried somewhere in there?" Nickole asked as she boosted herself forward, switching Damocles into its sword form. She raked her sword across Luna's chest, but another orb came up and bounced the blade away. Nickole threw an impact rune on her shield and bashed Luna with everything she had. In response Luna brought her own blade up and took the hit without so much as a step back. Nickole switched to getting up close with her sword, hopefully she'd be too close for any of those orbs to stop her. He slashed at Luna from the side, but a bright light flashed and Nickole watched as her sword was parried away effortlessly like it was a toy. Every time Nickole tried to hit Luna her blade twirled seemingly out of nowhere and knocked it away. And each time Luna would repay her with a quick swipe of her blade wherever Nickole had lowered her guard. This was insufferable, there was no way this girl had better training than her. She spent years learning from her father and brother, but against this girl she couldn't even land a hit. She was being toyed with, and it was painfully obvious to anyone watching.

As she watched Luna spin the blade in her hand as though it was weightless, Nickole admitted it was going to take far more than frontal attacks to beat this girl. She leapt back to give herself a moment to think, her runes were her best bet without a doubt, but which ones to use and how?

"Don't tell me you're getting scared now." Luna teased, Nickole ignored her and focused on her plan. She charged in, hacking with her blade knowing it wouldn't do anything. But as she was distracting Luna with a wild series of attacks, she tapped her foot to the ground and planted a explosive rune on the ground. _Twelve seconds_ , she noted as she set the timer on that rune, she spun around circling Luna and placing another rune to her left. _Ten seconds,_ spun to the right, _eight,_ flipped around her, _six_. Just as she placed the last rune she charged at Luna and used one of her orbs to jump over her and land a solid twenty feet away. While she was in the air she sheathed her sword and shield and raised her hands, creating her lockdown rune right on top of Luna.

"Is this the best you've got, holding me still?" Luna laughed as she realized she was unable to move her body. _Zero._ The four runes Nickole placed around Luna detonated simultaneously in a single massive blast. Most of what she faced hadn't withstood a single large variant of that rune going off, but Nickole wasn't taking a chance against this self-righteous, stuck up…

"I must say you almost had me there," Luna's voice rang out as the smoke from the blast began to clear. "Perhaps if you had been a trifle faster that might have hurt."

Nickole looked in awe as she saw a large orb fade away revealing Luna unscathed. Somehow the tiny orbs she was using before expanded into a massive one to shield her from the explosion. Before she could even respond one of those very orbs flew out of the smoke and impacted on her chest. The sheer force of the impact left her gasping for air, but the small explosion that followed knocked her off her feet. She was still in the air when the second orb hit, sending her flying into the wall. She left her Aura behind as she bounced off it and landed on her chest on the far side of the arena. She looked up to see Luna shaking her head at her.

"I don't know why I expected any more from you, you're nothing more than third rate trash." Luna spat as she raised her hand. She flicked her wrist and the last orb rushed towards Nickole too fast for her to track. She closed her eyes to brace for the impact when she felt someone standing in front of her. She opened them to see Kobalt kneeling in front of her, he hand up and a shield of black fire spiraling out from it. She didn't even have to look at his face, she could feel the menace radiating off of him. She had known him for months now, and she had only felt something like this once. It was terrifying, even laying behind him and his shield she was afraid of what might happen.

"Try that again, I dare you." Kobalt spat as he stood back up.

"Kobalt?" Luna stammered "What are you doing here?"

"What the hell is going on?" he asked Luna angrily

"Just a friendly match between two respective students." Luna smiled "It was actually Nickole's-"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Kobalt raged, "If that was a friendly match then why did you keep attacking. With Nickole's Aura gone if I hadn't stopped you that could have seriously hurt her!"

"Oh come now Kobalt I'd never hurt her, she's-"

Kobalt cut her off with a short burst of fire towards the side of her head. It blasted past her and burned a hole in the wall.

"You felt that right?" Kobalt asked lowering his hand "Lie to me again, and I won't just graze you."

"Oh Kobalt I'm not lying." Luna said still smiling, Nickole didn't even see him move. One second he was standing over her, the next he was in front of Luna well within striking range. He slammed his fist into her gut and sent her flying to the far end of the arena. After that he calmly walked back over and picked Nickole up, if she didn't know better she'd have sworn his eyes were darker than usual.

"I don't know who you think you are, and I don't care if you are one of my mother's favorite students." Kobalt warned as he started carrying Nickole away "Hurt my girlfriend again and I will break you in half."

"You dare?" Luna asked summoning a half a dozen orbs around her, her face twisted in rage. "I will show you just who I am."

"Careful Luna, haven't you heard about him." A voice warned from the audience. Nickole looked up to see the white haired guy from before, the one they were sure was Midori's kid.

"Furi? This is none of your business." Luna spat

"I know you weren't here to see it, but this is the guy that took on Leandros for attacking Professor Ward, what do you think he'll do if you keep pressing this." The boy continued "As much as I would enjoy watching him show you what he can do, how do you think it would turn out?"

Luna huffed for a moment and turned away, heading to the opposite exit.

"You alright?" Kobalt asked Nickole once they were out of the arena. "How do you feel, you look pale."

"I'm fine," she choked out

"Nickole." Kobalt pressed as he carried her back to the dorm room.

"I might need to lie down." She admitted, hoping that would be enough to keep him from worrying. Something was wrong, she could feel it, Kobalt felt like he was further away than ever before.

A/N

Well that was fun, it's always a good time writing your favorite character get her ass handed to her on a silver platter. For the record, yes Nickole is my favorite member of KNGT not Kobalt. He's a close second though.

Also for the record, she didn't stand a chance in that duel for multiple reasons. Foremost of which is her lack of information on her opponent and the way she rushed in not really thinking despite that fact. But Luna does also have years of experience on Nickole especially when it comes to one on one duels. Oh and that little bit with the purse? I wrote it solely to show how petty Luna is, that's the only reason it came up at all. Could that have been done better and in a less stereotypical way? Probably. Could I think of one? No.

So Kobalt's getting a little over protective there huh? Yeah he's not doing well, poor guy. Dance my puppet dance!

And don't worry, actual plot and important stuff will be coming soon. Right now is just a bit of additional character development now that Kobalt's memories are coming back and we see how he handles it.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just let me know so I can make this better going on.


	27. Chapter 27: Repercussions

"Ow!" Nickole cried out as Kobalt tried to put a bandage in her forehead.

"Would you quit squirming?" Kobalt asked "You're making this much harder than it needs to be."

"You're not the one who's all banged up." she pouted as he finally managed to get a bandage over the scrape. She had been pretty 'banged up', cut everywhere from hitting the wall and landing on the ground. Kobalt had been grateful there was a first aid kit in the dorm room, it made cleaning out the wounds easier than he was used to.

"Maybe not but you're acting like a child." Kobalt sighed "Feel any better?"

"Yeah a bit, where'd you learn first aid?" she asked him

"Really?" he asked in awe "Haven't we been over this like, a thousand times now with all the other stuff I can do?"

"Right. Black Knight. Sorry."

"Its fine," Kobalt insisted, "How's your back, you hit that wall pretty hard."

"I still had my Aura up when I hit the wall, I'm fine." Nickole told him

"Good." Kobalt breathed a sigh of relief, he had been terrified when he saw Nickole slam against the wall. After that all he felt was anger, and an enormous burning in his head. He leaned back against the head of the bed and closed his eyes.

"Hey you okay?" Nickole asked sliding up next to him.

"My head is ringing like a drum," he said "Other than that I'm fine."

"Maybe you should get some rest," Nickole suggested "You seem pretty out of it."

"I'm fine." Kobalt insisted "You're the one that needs to rest."

"Well at least do me a favor and stop looking so grumpy." She told him "You did promise me that way back."

"That was barely more than two months ago." Kobalt laughed

"Still."

"Alright fine, not like it's that hard." He smiled, then he heard a light snoring next to him and opened his eyes to see Nickole sleeping on his shoulder. He had never noticed how cute she looked while sleeping back at Beacon. Maybe a nap wasn't such a bad idea after all. Kobalt closed his eyes again and was out like a light, and for what felt like the first time in a month, he didn't dream of Black Knight.

Of course it was only a matter of time before something woke him up, a few hours later he woke to his scroll going off in his pocket. He yawned as he pulled it out and checked his messages. Professor Goodwitch was calling all the Beacon teams to a meeting in one of the lecture halls at Haven.

"You going to be okay walking for a bit?" Kobalt asked Nickole as he threw his armor on.

"I should be okay." She said as he pulled her to her feet.

"You two finally up?" Tristan callout out. Kobalt turned to see him leaning against the now open door to the room with Amber next to him and Justin out in the hall. "We didn't want to bother you earlier, you seemed too comfortable. How you feeling Nickole?"

"Better thanks."

"Good, that Haven girl has some nerve treating you like that." Tristan said, "Amber filled me in."

"Sounds like she has one hell of a grudge against your family." Amber sighed "She was something else."

"How bout we just avoid talking about her in general, I'm getting mad again just thinking about it all." Kobalt told them "I assume you guys got the message from Goodwitch?"

"Yeah we should probably getting moving out, I get the feeling she's got a specific topic to talk about." Tristan said turning to Amber, "Sorry babe, but were probably going to be out for a while."

"That's fine, I can just go through your stuff until you get back." Amber laughed as she walked into the dorm room.

"Come on, let's get going." Kobalt chuckled as he led the way to the lecture hall. He was surprised to see it wasn't too different from the ones back at Beacon, though less circular more square. The rest of the teams were already there and waiting, making KNGT's entrance significantly more noticeable, something Kobalt wanted to avoid after that fight. But it was too late now, he simply sighed and led his team to an empty row in the center of the seats.

"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice." Goodwitch called out from the front of the room. Like always she was wearing her usual dress and cape, though today something about her seemed different, almost on edge. And Kobalt had a feeling he knew why, Ozpin probably warned her about Black Knight. Kobalt briefly caught the professor sizing him up as he sat down and caught a questioning look briefly cross her face. She probably didn't believe whatever Ozpin told her.

"I'm sure many of you have a feeling as to why I called you hear." She said turning her eyes to Nickole.

"I knew it." Nickole whispered as she laid her head on the table. As much as Kobalt wanted to tell her it would be fine, he could feel Goodwitch's eyes boring into him as well. He settled for putting a hand on Nickole's shoulder, it was the best he'd be able to manage for the time being.

"Now I feel I shouldn't have to remind you that it is your duty as representatives of Beacon to get along with your fellow trainees here at Haven. We are not here to make enemies or repeat history. " Goodwitch spoke, a low murmur fell across the room, and Kobalt got the feeling that the rest of the Beacon teams had figured out who really started the fight between Nickole and Luna. Kobalt caught the words _pompous jerk_ , and _attacked one of our own,_ in the following whispers.

"That being said," Goodwitch added quieting everyone down in an instant. "If someone attempts to discredit you, and by extension Beacon, you have every right to stand up for yourself. And if one of your classmates is in need, it is your job to aid them however you can."

"Is this really happening?" Nickole whispered to Kobalt as she lifted her head up

"Ms. Gareth, it is my belief that you performed admirably in your duel. You were up against an opponent you knew nothing of, and one who had years of experience on you." Goodwitch turned back to Nickole "And despite this you stood you ground and fought well, you should be proud."

"Thank you." Nickole managed to say in her shock. Kobalt was pretty shocked himself, not once had Goodwitch condoned anything like this. And he doubted she even knew the full story, maybe her maternal side was getting the better of her.

"Now on to the actual reason I called you here. I'm sure many of you have not yet read the tournament rules, so allow me to-"." Goodwitch started, but was instantly cut off by someone shouting outside the hall. It was too far away to hear at first but as it got closer Kobalt was able to barely make out a few words, and a voice that sounded eerily familiar.

"Where is he?" a man's voice shouted just outside the door, it slammed open and a man wearing worn grey armor and a tattered red hood barged in the room.

"Where's my son?!" he shouted at everyone, that was when it hit Kobalt.

"Father?" he asked standing up. Though this man could not have looked further from what Kobalt remembered of him. The Marek Ward Kobalt had known wore white armor, had short dark brown hair and brown eyes. The one standing in the doorway now looked more like his evil clone. His hair was much longer, and his armor looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. Though his face always had a slightly weathered look to it, now it seemed like he'd been lost at sea, he even had a ragged beard to go with it. Everything about him was wrong, hell he was even twitching.

"Gallin! Where are they?" his father asked him the second he laid eyes on him.

"Excuse me sir!" Goodwitch yelled from the front of the class, her grip tight on her crop. "We are in the middle of a discussion here, if you wish to speak to one of my students you can-"

"Professor it's okay, I'll take care of this." Kobalt said putting his hands up hoping that would calm her down. "Come on let's talk outside."

"What are you doing here?" Kobalt asked once they managed to leave the room. "When did you get back?"

"Just now, Leandros called me the second you came back to Mistral." His father said, a crazed look in his eyes. He grabbed Kobalt's shoulders and was all but shaking him. "Gallin, where are they?"

"First of all, it's Kobalt nowadays, and where are who?" Kobalt asked brushing his father's arms off "What are you talking about?"

"The people who took you!" he shouted "I've been searching for years, I haven't found anything. But now you're back, and you can tell me where they are!"

"Hang on a second, that's what you came to see me for?" Kobalt asked

"Of course, I will make them pay for what they did." He said putting his hand on Kobalt's shoulder "They took my son, they will pay for messing with my family."

"Seriously?" Kobalt shouted "You came back for that?! You haven't seen me in eleven years and you want to go off searching for Black Knight?!"

"Of course I do! They took my son!"

"I am your son! And what makes you think I can help?" Kobalt continued yelling at his father "I barely remember anything let alone where they are, besides they shipped me around to places on each continent. And for the record they didn't take me I-"

"Black Knight, each continent." His father mumbled and cut him off "Best lead I've had in years, I should go."

Without another word he turned and started walking away, leaving Kobalt standing there stunned, and reeling in anger. He heard the door open and his team walk out behind him.

"Hey Goodwitch sent us to make sure you…" Nickole started "Hey, you okay?"

"Eight years." Kobalt growled

"What?" Nickole asked

"He hasn't seen my mother in eight years! He hasn't seen me in eleven!" Kobalt shouted "And all he cares about is finding Black Knight!"

He heard Nickole walk towards him and put a hand on his shoulder, he didn't even need to look at his team to know they had no idea what to say. Nickole or Tristan probably would've tried to calm him down if they knew how, but even Kobalt didn't know what could calm him right now.

"He won't even find them, and if he does he'll just get himself killed!" Kobalt continued on his rage.

"Kobalt…" Nickole started

"Insensitive jackass!" Kobalt reeled, shaking Nickole's hand off him, he started sprinting after his father. His head was spinning with anger so fierce he could barely see straight. "He is not getting off easy on this one!"

"Kobalt wait!" Nickole called after him, but by then all he could hear was the blood pounding in his ears.

Kobalt bolted out Haven, searching for wherever his father was going. He wasn't even sure what it was he planned on doing, he just knew he was pissed and his dad needed to answer for all the crap he pulled. He climbed up to the top of Haven's tower and spotted his father further below him, heading into the forest on the plateau not far from the school.

"HEY!" Kobalt shouted as he leapt into the air. He shot a blast of energy at the tree just in front of his father. He landed on the cliff edge just as his father turned around.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Kobalt asked

"After the people who took you, Black Knight wasn't it?" his father asked, not even phased by Kobalt's attitude.

"What about mom? Are you even going to bother to see her before you disappear again?" Kobalt accused

"I can't afford to let this lead get cold," his father argued "Sera would understand."

"No she won't, she doesn't." Kobalt told him "Neither of us do, I haven't seen you in eleven years!"

"Because you were taken from us, I have to make those people pay." Marek said, still acting like everything was normal.

"For the love of Dust I wasn't taken!" Kobalt shouted "I joined them!"

"What? Why?" his father asked, the look on his face finally shifting to one of anger. "Why would you leave?"

"I don't know, I was a stupid kid with no idea what he was getting himself into. I wanted to be a hero, and mom tried to teach me!" Kobalt shouted "But there were things she couldn't teach me, things you should've been there to! But you were almost never home, and when someone came along who taught me what you should've I didn't know better than to join them."

"What, are you saying it's my fault?" Marek asked

"To a degree, yeah, that's what I'm saying!" Kobalt yelled "You were always gone, and I get it you were working. But do you have any idea how much we missed you? How much mom still misses you?"

"Now you listen to me Gallin Ward-" his father started sternly

"You say that name like it gives you some kind of power over me." Kobalt interrupted while getting in Marek's face.

"I'm your father!"

"Then start acting like it!" Kobalt shouted, shoving his father so hard he went flying into a tree. "You claim to be my father, but all you care about is finding Black Knight. I'm back home for the first time in eleven years, does that not mean anything to you?"

"You don't understand-"

"And what about mom? You haven't seen her in eight! Do you even give a damn about your family anymore?" Kobalt asked

"Of course I do!"

"Then what the hell are you doing? Do you even realize how you've been treating your family lately?" Kobalt asked as he walked over and grabbed his father's collar. The man didn't bother to look his son on the eyes. "Or maybe it's not that different from the way you used to, with your adventures from one end of Remnant to the other."

To that his father raised his head, and it almost seemed like his eyes were clearing. Like he was seeing everything for the first time.

"I suppose you want an apology huh?"

"I don't give a damn about your apology." Kobalt spat "But there is someone who would, and you owe it to her."

"Even after all these years, you're still so protective of you mother." Marek sighed "That's my boy."

"Don't call me that, just go." Kobalt said standing up straight and pointing over towards their house "Once you're done there I'll think about forgiving you."

It turned out Leandros' problem was nothing more than simple clerical work he needed Sera to sign off on. Sure he wanted to get a team of students out later that day and he needed Sera to clear it, but that didn't justify calling her into Haven on her day off. He could've just had her do it online. There were times she honestly wondered how he had become Headmaster at Haven, she had to remind herself just how serious he was when he needed to be. And how clever he really was, intentionally playing the fool to seem less threatening. Throughout the years she had seen glimpses of his true nature, and when he meant to be he seemed more a stoic warrior than a jovial professor. In fact in his short lived duel with Gallin she had seen him almost drop his façade.

"Kobalt." She breathed, reminding herself of her son's new name. It was taking her far too long to adjust to calling him by a different name, and just as long to adjust to him being back home. She was tempted to go downstairs to see if he was back, but he was probably at Haven with his team right now. It reminded her of back when she was at school, back when life seemed so much simpler. She missed the days when her and her team would just relax outside in the hills by Haven. It probably didn't help that she could see Haven from the center of her house, as well as the very hill she was thinking of. Sera remembered thinking about how much nicer it was in Mistral than Atlas when she first arrived at Haven, of course the company she had didn't hurt. She was considering heading for those hills to relax for a bit when someone knocked on the door.

"Middle of the afternoon on a Saturday," Sera thought aloud, "Who on Remnant could that be? Perhaps Nickole forgot something else."

She walked over to open the door when she felt something strange, a light spark as she reached for the handle. She calmed herself this wasn't just some bit of static, no this was someone's Aura. She quieted her mind and focused on the spark, it felt as though any second now it was going to burst out and bounce around the room.

 _It couldn't be_ , she thought, _there's no way._

She ripped the door open to see if she was just imagining things, she wasn't. Standing in front of her was the very man who's Aura she had first felt over twenty years ago. Marek Ward was standing in front of her once again. Yet he seemed different from the man she'd last seen eight years ago, he'd recently cut his hair and shaved, but his face seemed thinner like he hadn't been eating. His armor, which was once a huge source of pride for him was marred and grey. And to top it all off he was holding a bouquet of flowers. She just stood there staring at him, completely at a loss for words.

"Hey Sera, I don't know how people usually go about saying 'I'm sorry' or 'I'm an ass', but flowers are a good start right?" Marek asked holding out the bouquet for her to take. White carnations, at least he remembered her favorite. She almost regretted smacking them out of his hand.

"Flowers?! You always were a bit dense but this?!" she yelled "You've been gone for eight years and you think flowers are going to make things right?!"

"Well no but-" he didn't get any further before she hit him dead center of his chest.

"Where the hell did you go that you couldn't come back?! Did you ever even get close to finding our son, was any of it even remotely worth it?!" striking him with each question

"Not exactly but-"

"Did you even care, did you even think about me?!" she cried, by now her hands were getting sore from beating on his armor.

"Of course I did."

"Then where were you?! Gallin was gone and so were you! Do you have any idea how much I missed you, how much I needed you here?!" she didn't even realize at first that she was crying into his chest at this point. "Where were you? Why weren't you here?"

"Sera, I am so, so sorry for leaving." Marek said wrapping his arms around her "I know that doesn't make everything better, or even close, but it's a start right? Please tell me it's a start."

"What took you so long?" she choked out

"Well I would've been here sooner but I had to shave and get a haircut." He said as she pulled away from him "And before that a certain someone had to knock some sense into me."

"A certain some… who?" Sera asked

"Our son is a bit of hard ass," Marek smiled "You know he's still as protective of you as he's always been."

"You've seen him?"

"Kobalt," Marek sighed, "That's going to take some getting used to."

A/N

See? I said important stuff was going to start happening soon. And I can't even tell you how long I've been waiting to introduce Marek. I love both of Kobalt's parental reunions, especially how polar opposite the two are. Kobalt isn't joking we he says his father was almost never home either.

Speaking of Kobalt, there's a plot point I tried skirting around solely for wow factor in this chapter. That's right, he willingly joined Black Knight. Originally it was going to be a kidnapped child soldier, but after some review and talking with other people I wound up smacking myself with how cliche that was. By that point I was already deep enough into his story that I couldn't change the child soldier part and still have enough of a plot.

But having him consent to the whole thing gave me room to work with so much more. Yeah it's still pretty cliche, but oh well hindsight is 20/20. Plus it keeps him from completely turning into a jerk once his memories come back. Yeah he's still getting pretty pissed every so often, but that actually has a completely different cause that I can't wait to get to.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just let me know so I can make this better going on.


	28. Chapter 28: FIRE

In the six months he'd known Kobalt, Tristan had never seen him training angrily before. Sure the guy could look intense at times, but when he was training or fighting off Grimm he seemed to be having fun. Today was nothing like that though, Justin had offered to help Kobalt practice for the tournament the next day after their run in with his father. Even Tristan thought it was a good idea, let the guy blow off some steam he'd gotten himself pretty worked up during the ordeal. And to make sure he was safe against Kobalt going all out, Nickole was putting her invulnerability rune on Justin. It only gave Kobalt a short time to train in between Nickole augmenting Justin, but in the short ten seconds he was safe, Kobalt was going off delivering attacks Tristan thought might break the rune and harm his brother. The whole time his eyes were burning with anger and his attacks knocking a usually immoveable Justin around the arena.

"Maybe we should stop before someone gets hurt." Tristan suggested to Nickole after over a dozen rounds of Kobalt burning through her rune.

"Its fine, Kobalt knows the limit I put a timer on his HUD." Nickole said

"That's not what I'm worried about." Tristan said as Kobalt unleashed a huge wave of energy right on top of Justin.

"The rune?" Nickole asked "My father and I tested it, nothing he used or even my grandfather used broke it."

"Kobalt's not them." Tristan argued as the rune faded and Kobalt took a step back.

"Maybe not, but can you think of any other way to help him through this?" Nickole asked "The dance is in a few days and I'd prefer it if my boyfriend wasn't ready to burn the school down during it."

"Maybe he should just talk to his dad." Tristan suggested, in that moment he felt Kobalt's eyes boring into him, he turned to feel a look that terrified him more than when Kobalt nearly decked him during the 'bookshelf incident'. His helmet might still have been on but the air around him grew dark as he looked at Tristan. Nickole sighed and put her rune back on Justin, drawing Kobalt's attention back to training.

"Bad idea, Kobalt got pissed thinking about his father before he came back." Nickole told him "And after all that, I don't think it's a good idea for Kobalt to see him for the rest of the day, maybe even more than today. So don't bring it up."

"But it's his dad," Tristan whispered "I get that he messed up and Kobalt was in the right, but he can't just cut him out of his life."

No sooner had Tristan finished then Kobalt's sword came flying through the air and impaled itself in the wall next to Tristan's head.

"Warned you." Nickole sighed

"You don't understand!" Kobalt raged throwing his helmet to the ground. "Your parents were there for you, they were around for your childhood. My father, yeah he was a Huntsman, but was never around to begin with! And when he was home, all he would talk about were the crazy adventures he was on all across Remnant, like he'd rather be out there than home."

"Yeah but-"

"And when I left so did he." Kobalt continued "I asked my mom, over the years he came back less and less often until he just stopped all together. My mom had to deal with everything all alone! If he had just stayed…"

And before Tristan knew it Kobalt had gone from out of control angry to visibly sad. The rapid change came out of nowhere, it was as if Kobalt had changed into a different person. He walked past Tristan and grabbed his sword, sheathed it and started walking for the exit. It was as if he didn't want to be seen. Tristan caught up with him before he could reach the exit.

"Hey Kobalt, come on man you can talk to us." Tristan said grabbing his shoulder to keep him from leaving. "It's us, you think were gonna judge you for this? We've been with you from the beginning."

"I never should've left," Kobalt said taking a deep breath "I never should've joined Black Knight."

"Come on man you were a kid." Tristan argued "You said it yourself you didn't know any better."

"Yeah but the things I must've put my mom throu-"

"Stop, we've had this conversation haven't we?" Tristan reminded him "You're mom doesn't care, all that matters is that you're back now. And you're dad, I'm not going to excuse what he's done, but can't you give him a chance?"

"He looked so…lost, when he first showed up." Kobalt said "It was like he'd gone crazy."

"His son disappeared out of nowhere and after years he couldn't find him." Justin said coming up from the back "That's got to mess with his head, probably drove him nuts."

"I'm sure by now he's gone to see your mom." Nickole added, walking up with Kobalt's helmet in hand. "He seemed…better after you uh, went off on him. Maybe he just needed someone to set him straight."

"You think that's it?" Kobalt asked

"He did say he was going to go see your mom right?" Nickole asked

"He did, and Kobalt please don't hit me for this," Tristan started "But he seemed fine when he left."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Kobalt said "But that doesn't mean I'll forgive him."

"Who said you had too? There are things my family's done I won't forgive." Nickole reasoned, Tristan raised an eyebrow to that very statement. "I mean yeah it's nothing like this but family is always messy, right guys?"

"Yeah, you think there aren't times I want to punch Justin in his face?" Tristan asked Justin looked at him confused after that "Okay there aren't, but my cousins-"

"I get it." Kobalt cut him off "Its fine, it's not like I can just ignore my father for the rest of my life. Just don't expect me to be best buds with the guy."

"I'm sure he'll find some way of making it all up to you." Tristan said

"He's got eight years' worth of shit to make up for," Kobalt said "But it's not me he needs to make it up to. He owes me a different kind of thing entirely."

"Are you all done with your little team bonding exercise?" Amber called from the top of the arena, "I'm kinda bored over here."

"What are we not entertaining enough for you?" Tristan asked

"As good as it was for Kobalt to literally burn off his frustration," Amber said "Watching it isn't exactly like watching a real fight."

"Sounds like I've got to live up to your girlfriends expectations when the tournament starts up Tristan." Kobalt laughed

"You can thank him for setting them so high." Amber smiled

"Really, I didn't know you thought so highly of me Tristan." Kobalt smirked

"Oh shut it." Tristan fumed "Come on let's get something to eat."

Lunch turned out to be just the thing Tristan needed, his stomach was growling and he needed something to get his mind off the whole day. What had gone from him helping out Kobalt and getting things squared away for the dance turned into Nickole getting in a fight, Kobalt tearing into his father, and then nearly literally the same to Justin. It was a damn good thing they were allowed in the dining hall at Haven, because none of them felt like going into town for dinner after the day they'd had. Of course with all the students from Haven already here, and the few teams from the other academies, the whole place was packed. Finding a table that could fit them all was pretty surprising, they wound up taking up part of a large circular table.

"So what's the plan for the week?" Tristan asked once they all sat down, "We've got plenty of time before the dance."

"Sleep?" Kobalt suggested "I feel like I haven't slept in months."

"You were sleeping four hours ago." Justin pointed out

"Yes and I'd like to do more of that." Kobalt added "I swear ever since the Tundra its felt less like sleeping and more like changing settings."

"Memories?" Tristan asked

"Yeah, and they're getting less clear each time." he said "I can recall the basics but that's it."

"How about we change the subject for now." Nickole suggested "Haven't we dealt with enough for the week? Can we just act like a normal team for a few days?"

"She's got a point." Amber hummed from the side of the table.

"So who's ready for the dance?" Tristan tried to ask nonchalantly "I can't help but wonder how it's going to be."

"Well hopefully it'll go over fairly well, we did plan it." A voice said to his left, Tristan turned to see a group of four people standing next the table, three of them he didn't recognize two guys and a girl, one he did. It was the white haired guy they saw fighting the other day, the same one who spoke up after the fight with Nickole and Luna.

"Sorry all the other tables are full, do you mind if we sit here?" the girl asked, she was darker skinned with short white hair and wore a light grey tunic. The guy next to her was lighter and only a few inches taller than her with long orange hair and a blue jacket, but something about him seemed off, he was super jittery. The last guy was absolutely huge, and would make Jon Umber and Justin look normal sized. Dark skinned like the girl with buzzed black hair and arms that looked like tree trunks, the guy could probably bench press a car. He was wearing a plain t shirt and a set of greaves that seemed to be made of stone, he must've taken most of his gear off. The all seemed pretty tired, probably just came from their own training session.

"Yeah go ahead," Kobalt offered letting the team sit down with them. "So if you don't mind me asking, what was that about planning the dance?"

"We were asked to plan and set up the dance," the girl said "And I'd like to think we did a good job."

"Actually it was your mother who asked us to." The white haired boy said "You're Professor Ward's son right?"

"Yeah and you're Professor Midori's." Kobalt answered.

"Did the hair give it away?" he asked

"No the plasma did." Kobalt chuckled

"You saw me fight?"

"The other day." Kobalt nodded

"You were in the arena with a girl in yellow if memory serves." Tristan said

"It's Furi right?" Nickole asked "I think that's what Luna said."

"Yeah, Furi Midori." He nodded "Sorry we should've introduced ourselves by now, this is Octavia Ivory." He added pointing to the girl next to him.

"Nice to meet you." she smiled "I've been hearing about to infamous team KNGT for a few weeks now, glad to finally see what you're like."

"Infamous?" Tristan asked

"You four have built up quite the reputation since you got here." The larger guy said "Name's Onyx Rhodes."

"Yeah from your leader here fighting our headmaster, him being Prof Ward's son, and then the thing with Luna the whole school knows about you by now." The last guy said without a breath.

"And this is Nitrous Eden," Furi added "We're still working on his manners."

"Well you've obviously heard my name if you know who I am." Kobalt said "Still weird for me to call myself Kobalt **_Ward_** after all these years."

"I bet, something about amnesia I heard?" Furi prodded

"It's a long story." Nickole said

"Another time then, and your name is…" Octavia started

"Nickole Gareth," Nickole said shaking her hand "I'm surprised my name isn't well known after that fight with Luna."

"Well, your face is, but no one knew your name." Octavia laughed

"Go figure."

"Meanwhile you two are a mystery." Furi noted pointing towards Tristan and Justin

"Not much to say, were not trouble makers like the other two members of our team." Tristan laughed

"Well that's a load of crap Tristan." Amber said "You've made more trouble in a day then the rest of them will make in a month."

"Come on Amber, I've been good for a while now." Tristan argued

"Yeah because we've been busy with other things." Justin said "I'm his brother Justin by the way."

"So should we be looking forward to a nice evening?" Nickole asked "If Mrs. Ward asked you to manage the dance I imagine she's got faith in you."

"You could say that." Octavia laughed "Furi here is probably her favorite student."

"That's interesting I'd say Kobalt is Kage's favorite student." A voice chimed in. Tristan turned to see Professor Viridian sliding into the last seat at the table. "Pretty funny actually."

"Aunt Alexis, what are you doing here?" Furi asked

"I'm not your aunt Furi don't call me that, it makes me sound old." Viridian said "And I'm here assisting your father clearly."

"What so funny?" Kobalt probed

"Isn't it obvious? I made it clear to Kage that you two would get along great." she added "I wasn't wrong from the sounds of it, and I hear that Furi gets along well with Professor Ward. If I didn't know better I'd say he picked the professor most unlike his father for a reason."

"What?" Tristan asked

"You recognized Furi as Kage's son immediately didn't you?" Viridian asked "Kage's made a name for himself since he graduated from Atlas. Not many Atlas academy students stay out of the military, and even less had Kage's skill. Imagine being his son."

Thinking about it Tristan remembered when his father first started taking him to sharpshooting contests, everyone knew pretty quickly he was his father's son. But after a while Tristan had managed to make a name for himself and he was recognized as Tristan Glaucous. But his father wasn't a Huntsman or a cyborg. He looked over at Furi, and it was clear he was getting frustrated at the mere conversation.

"Even here at another academy he can barely get away from his father's reputation." Viridian said

"That's enough." Kobalt and Furi said together

"Who are we to live up to our fathers' standards?" Kobalt asked, it was clear there that he wasn't as over seeing his father as they had thought. "What the hell is so special about them anyway? Maybe if they weren't so focused on being Huntsmen this wouldn't happen!"

Everyone at the table had the same look on their faces, even Furi who was the one most of the conversation had been about looked shocked. Of course an outburst like that from Kobalt was occasionally accompanied by the occasional burst of blue fire from his shoulders which only added to the tension at the table.

"Okay, what's got you all worked up?" Viridian asked

"Kobalt ran into his own father earlier today." Tristan said "It wasn't exactly pretty."

"Well then you and Furi have something else in common," Viridian said standing up "The last time he spoke with his father it didn't end well either." She left without another word

"Family huh?" Furi asked taking a sip of his drink

"Don't even get me started." Kobalt sighed

"There's a fire extinguisher by the exit if you do." Furi added

Even Kobalt couldn't keep a straight face with that joke, the two teams found themselves cracking up over the slightest of jokes.

A/N

Not much to say about this one, mostly new character introductions and setup. And a short showcase on Kobalt's current mental state. While not great, it's not getting MUCH worse. He's kinda stagnating where he's at right now.

Frankly the main reason this chapter is a thing is to introduce Team FIRE, who'll be popping up more often than Team JADE or UMBR. JADE wound up turning into a group of sub-sub-plot character with UMBR mostly existing as a inside joke between me and one of my friends. FIRE is going to have a much bigger role later on, with Furi taking up most of the spotlight for a while.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it.


	29. Chapter 29: Turning Point

Kobalt looked across the field as the sun began to set, there might not have been anything else around for miles, but from this hill he could still make see the ocean in the distance. With no noise around him but the wind he could hear the sound of waves crashing on the beach, and the breeze brought the smell of saltwater with it to him. This time the place was peaceful, very much unlike before. Looking over Kobalt saw his sword still impaled in the ground and cocked his head in curiosity, but at the moment he didn't really care. Instead he sat down on the hill further below the stone circle his sword stood in. With the sound of the waves and the wind it was calm and calming here, he felt at ease. The sunlight hitting the water almost made Kobalt forget where he was. But as the sun fully set and the clouds parted for the moon to shine down, Kobalt heard a new sound. A light crackling that grew louder and louder. Standing up he felt his attention being drawn to his left and right sides, as he looked he saw each side of the plain engulfed in fire. He looked on in horror as the flames burned forward lighting up the night and drowning the moon in smoke.

 _Some would seek to drive the darkness from the world with their light_ , a voice rang out, it was eerily familiar yet Kobalt couldn't place it.

"Who's there?" Kobalt asked backing up the hill. He got in answer in the form of a high pitched whistle and he rolled back as the earth in front of him exploded sending dirt flying.

 _Others believe hiding the color of their souls will bring about their safety and security._ The voice called out again, this time clearer and sounding more and more familiar.

Explosions began dotting the hill and plain beneath him. Kobalt ran back up the hill and grabbed his sword, drawing it from the stone as it became engulfed in blue flames.

"Show yourself." Kobalt demanded as an explosion landed directly in front of him.

 _The balance is what they all fail to see, they cannot even comprehend it._

"Always with the riddles." Another voice sighed, this one Kobalt knew, it was his own. Looking down the hill he caught the sight of a silhouette through the smoke of the explosions.

"Who are you?" Kobalt asked as something exploded to his left. Before he could even react he felt something barreling towards him, for less than a second Kobalt thought he saw something metallic directly in front of him. Then an explosion tore through him and ripped him out of his nightmare. He woke up gasping for air, half expecting his head to be on fire like when other memories had returned. But there was no pain, none at all.

Over the next few days Kobalt avoided going home completely. He still saw his mom at Haven, but he couldn't stand the thought of seeing his father. Of course that all changed the second Saturday rolled around. Kobalt had been putting off heading home so long he was starting to get pissed just thinking about.

"Hey man you okay?" Tristan asked coming into the room after hanging out with Amber.

"Hmm? Yea I'm fine." Kobalt said

"Yea I'll believe that," Tristan scoffed "Come on man what's bugging you now?"

"The dance is in a few hours." Kobalt told him

"Yea and you should be excited, we've all be looking forward to it since we got here."

"My suit is still back home."

"Shit." Tristan muttered "That explains it, don't wanna head back there I imagine?"

"Not even a little bit." Kobalt sighed "But Nickole will kill me if I go to the dance in my armor."

"You need some backup, want me to come with you to pick it up?" Tristan offered

"I might need you to hold me back incase my father says something he shouldn't."

"Yeah cause I'm the one to hold you back," Tristan laughed "let's go."

It was a good thing his family lived so close to Haven, Kobalt barely had time to think about it all before they reached his house. Plus Tristan was smart enough to focus the conversation towards the dance rather than where they were heading. By the time they reached the front door to his house Kobalt almost forgot his father was back. Of course that changed the second he walked in the door.

"Kobalt!" his mother called from the den, she sprinted up from her chair to the doorway in an instant and threw her arms around him. "Are you ready to come back to the house now?"

"Not exactly, the dance is tonight remember?" Kobalt shrugged as his mother pulled away. Over her shoulder he noticed his father sitting on the couch in the den looking at him. Though the look in his eyes was nothing like what it was a few days ago. And he had shaved his beard off, he seemed to be more like the man Kobalt remembered growing up. It wasn't much of an improvement though.

"Oh right of course, silly me." his mother laughed "So you're here for your suit then."

"Yea I figured I'd grab it, change real quick, and head out." Kobalt said "Can't afford to be late tonight."

"Well I won't keep you then." Sera smiled stepping out of his way

"Question Mrs. Ward, where's the bathroom?" Tristan asked

"Follow Kobalt down the hall, to the right just before the stairs down." Sera smiled

Kobalt led the way before Tristan saw the direction and took off for the bathroom. Kobalt instead headed for his room where he assumed his mother put his suit after it was shipped here. He found it sitting on his bed, already laid out for him. It took him a few minutes to change, but when he got another look of himself in the mirror he knew the suit was worth every bit of lien. He reached for the box holding the Vytal Stars when something popped into his head. _Fenrir Ward_ , the name of his great-great-grandfather who fought in the war. His son would've be the last Gallin Ward before Kobalt had the name, at that moment part of him realized why his father would take issue with his new name. When Kobalt got the stars he felt proud to be part of his family, and the name Gallin was part of that family's history. A history his father prided himself on since he was younger than Kobalt. Walking back up the stairs he couldn't help but wonder if he even had the right to blame his father for taking issue with his new name. Of course he most certainly did have the right to blame him for a few other things. He was so lost in thought he did even realize his father was standing in front of him until he almost bumped into him.

"Woah, I know you're pissed at me, but you don't have to pretend I'm not here." Marek tried to joke.

"No it's just…never mind, what do you want?" Kobalt asked

"I just want you to know that even if you're pissed at me you can still come home." He said "I can't make anything up to you without seeing you, and it would mean the world to your mother, even if it means you don't talk to me."

"You seem to be doing better." Kobalt noted

"Well I was a bit out of my element before, I should really be thanking you for knocking some sense into me." he chuckled "Look, I know saying sorry won't make up for what I've done. And I know I wasn't the world's greatest father for you growing up. But I want you to know everything I did, was for you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Kobalt muttered as he walked past his father.

"Right you've got the dance to get to," his father smiled "Your mother tells me this girl you're dating is something special. You might not need it but my advice, don't try to be anything but who you are. Your mother seems to like this new you, and he managed to talk some sense into me, must be one hell of a guy."

"Oh great my first bit of fatherly advice." Kobalt scoffed "You're a few years late you know."

"More than a few, now go on, don't keep her waiting." Marek said walking the other way. Kobalt walked into the living room to see Tristan chatting with his mother. Her eyes went wide when she turned to see Kobalt in his suit.

"Oh my, you look like you came from Atlas." his mother smiled "I guess there's more of my family in you than I thought."

"He cleans up nicely doesn't he?" Tristan agreed "I should probably get him back to Haven, Nickole will kill me if he's late."

"No she…actually yeah that is something she'd do." Kobalt laughed "And Amber would do the same if **you're** late."

"Well then you'd better get going." Sera said "Have a good time."

"Thanks mom." Kobalt said as he opened the door to leave, he and Tristan had been walking for a while when Kobalt finally turned to him. "You said something to him didn't you."

"Come again?" Tristan asked

"My father, you said something didn't you?"

"I might've let slip that he's got a lot of work to do." Tristan admitted "I know it's not my place, but I can't help myself on this one To this day, if I'm ever having a hard time I know I can call my dad for help. And sorry if I sound lame but you should be able to as well."

"Let's just get to the dance." Kobalt sighed

"Well that's not the attitude you want to have going in." Tristan laughed "Come on, aren't you excited?"

"Kinda dealing with a lot these days and my father is close to the top of that list." Kobalt told him as they entered Haven's main hall "It's going to take more than thinking about the dance to cheer me up."

"What about that." Tristan said motioning to something ahead of them. He disappeared without another word and Kobalt was left wondering what he meant.

That was when he looked to where Tristan was talking about. It was Nickole, and for a moment his mind went completely blank. She was wearing an amazing light grey dress with a pair of long grey gloves and her hair down. She looked stunning, he was at a complete loss for words, all he could do was stand there wide eyed as she walked towards him.

"So I take it I look nice?" Nickole asked him, something in her voice told him she actually didn't think so herself.

"That's one way of putting it." Kobalt breathed

"How would you put it?" she asked

"Amazing, stunning, just…wow." He said coming out shock

"Really?" she asked, her eyes lighting up

"Are you serious? You do know you look incredible right?" he asked now confused

"I uh, don't usually dress up like this." She admitted "And you know better than anyone I don't really do normal girl stuff, you've seen my family."

"Yeah but still…" he trailed off

"Well you clean up pretty well yourself." Nickole smiled "So, shall we get going?"

"Right dance sorry." Kobalt shook his head, he stuck his arm out for Nickole and headed for what he hoped actually was the ballroom. He was so blown away he started to worry he might have a new case of amnesia.

"You alright?" Nickole asked, noticing something was off.

"Yeah," he said "just trying not to stare."

"Oh really?" she teased

"Give me a break." He laughed "I'm a guy, I can't help myself."

"I suppose it's not your fault after all." Nickole laughed with him

"This'll be nice." Kobalt said as the approached the enormous door that led to the ballroom. Even now Kobalt could hear the music and the sound of people talking just on the other side.

"What will?" Nickole asked

"The dance. Come on you're the smart one." He said "It just feels like with everything that's happened lately, we kinda deserve this right now."

"You've had an interesting past few months," she agreed "you definitely deserve this."

"Hey this isn't about me." he said

"Then what is it about?"

"Us," Kobalt told her "Don't forget you've been with me every step of the way, and I know it hasn't been easy for you either. **We** deserve this."

"You're right, this will be nice." She smiled.

Opening the door Kobalt realized just how packed it was in the ballroom, there were dozens of people already there. It was a good thing Haven had a big ballroom, the one at Beacon had nothing on this one. Standing at a small podium was Octavia, the girl they'd met the other day with Furi and the rest of team FIRE. She was wearing a plain white dress with ivory bracelets and earrings.

"Well look who showed up, looks like you two jumped right out of a fairy tale." She said when she saw Kobalt and Nickole.

"Thanks, where's the rest of your team?" Kobalt asked "Didn't they help out too?"

"Well Furi's up there." she said pointing upwards to the next floor where he was sitting half asleep in his suit. "He's been training nonstop for the tournament, Nitrous is our DJ, and Onyx is making sure he doesn't put on anything crazy yet."

"Does Furi ever relax? He seems like he lives on his feet." Nickole said

"He does sometimes, I'm going to try to get him to have some fun before the nights over." Octavia said "But I think with his father here he's got a lot he wants to prove."

"Yeah I get that," Kobalt sighed "Tell him if he ever wants a new sparring partner to let me know."

"Will do," Octavia laughed "Now don't let me keep you, go have fun."

"So where to first?" Kobalt asked Nickole as they shuffled away from the door. "The punch bowl looks delicious."

"You would suggest something like that." Nickole chuckled "Why not the—"

"Nickole?" a voice called out from their side. Kobalt didn't even need to turn his head to know it was Jazz. When he did he saw the rest of team JADE save for Carmen, all dressed up and ready for the dance. Jazz was wearing an uncharacteristically plain green dress, whereas Dore was wearing a golden ball gown and Amy was wearing a dark purple cocktail dress with her crystals decorating the straps.

"Where did you get that dress?" Dore asked "It looks amazing!"

"You trying to show us up or something?" Jazz asked

"I'll just give you ladies some space." Kobalt whispered as he began to move away. Not a second later the grip on his arm tightened and he noticed the faint glow of one of Nickole's runes beneath him.

"You leave me alone with them and I swear we are through." She whispered through gritted teeth, keeping a forced smile going. "I will never hear the end of it if they get me in a conversation about the two of us."

"Well ladies we'd stay and talk but we were just about to go dance." Kobalt said without a second thought, pulling Nickole along as her rune faded beneath him. It wasn't until they hit the dance floor that Kobalt realized the error in his plan.

"Shit," he sighed as they hit the center of the floor.

"What is it?" Nickole asked putting her free hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know how to dance, remember?" he told her

"What are you talking about you did fine at the club."

"That wasn't exactly a ballroom dance." He countered "I have no idea what I'm doing here."

"Well for starters, were dating so your other hand can go on my waist." Nickole told him

"I think its fine where it is." He argued, leaving his hand much further up her back.

"Unbelievable, are you actually nervous right now?" she asked him "You've been through much worse and **this** is making you nervous?"

"Of course it is, I have no idea what I'm doing in this relationship and I really don't want to screw this up." he admitted

"Are you worried you might?" Nickole asked mystified

"I don't know if you remember, but I've screwed up my life a lot already." He said "Kinda trying not to do that anymore."

"Well for one, good luck on this one, I don't exactly want this to blow up either." she smiled "And two, I'm telling you to move your hand, so it's okay to move your hand."

"Alright." Kobalt sighed sliding his hand down.

"And as far as dancing goes, I don't know how you haven't noticed it but you've been leading since your hand was on my back." Nickole told him.

"Wait what?" he asked looking down. Sure enough the two of them were dancing, it was as if his body was moving on its own.

"I'm starting to think Black Knight was training me for espionage or something." Kobalt wondered "Because there is no other reason I should know how to dance like this."

"Maybe you just saw a lot of dancing movies back when you were a kid." Nickole suggested "Besides it's not like slow dancing is hard."

"Yeah, I just have to not think about what I'm doing." Kobalt said

"Well then just focus on me." she told him

"Well if you insist I'm not going to complain."

"Well it looks like you two are having fun." Tristan said as he and Amber slid in next to them on the dance floor.

"There you go again ruining our moment." Nickole mumbled "Amber I swear your boyfriend is really starting to get on my nerves."

"Yea he has a habit of doing that." Amber sighed

"Could you do me a favor and try and keep him from doing that all night?" Kobalt asked her

"I'll try." She laughed "But he also has a habit of disappearing."

"Well before we leave you two alone, maybe you should take a look at who just walked in." Tristan suggested, pointing over to the door. Kobalt looked over to seen Justin, dressed in a dark red suit, walk in with Carmen.

"Holy Aura." Kobalt whispered as he saw them walk in together.

"What? Who is it?" Nickole asked, Kobalt spun them over so she could look over his shoulder "Is that, what in the winds, when did they…?"

"I have no idea, she definitely has a thing for him though." Kobalt told her, suddenly remembering the other day when they ran into Carmen in town.

"Do you think Justin knows?" Nickole asked "I mean, I imagine she asked him to the dance."

"My brother is many things, one of them is dense." Tristan weighed in "Forty lien says he has no idea."

"Oh would you stop it." Amber said smacking his shoulder.

"Well good for Carmen." Nickole added "She's going to have to be forward to get anywhere with Justin."

"Where'd he get the suit?" Kobalt wondered

"Really, that's what you're curious about?" Nickole asked him

"What?" he argued "It's a legitimate question."

"Just shut up and keep dancing." She laughed

"Gladly."

Kobalt would have stayed dancing with her all night if he had the choice to. But it was only a matter of time before their legs started getting tired. They'd have sat down, but there was so few open tables in the ballroom that they wouldn't have been able to have a private conversation. Instead Kobalt remembered that while Haven didn't have a normal garden quite like the one back at Beacon, it did have a small water garden overlooking most of Mistral. He pulled Nickole along with him as he started remembering the few times he'd been there with his mother.

"You sure do take me to the nicest places." Nickole said as they reached the garden.

"Well after one trip to a barren wasteland I figured this is a better place to take a girl." Kobalt chuckled as he walked over to the small bridge and sat down.

"Oh it wasn't that bad," Nickole joked "I learned a lot about you from that trip."

"Yeah we both did." Kobalt smiled as she sat down next to him, leaning on his shoulder.

"I know you're probably sick of this question, but how are you holding up?" she asked quietly

"Nickole," Kobalt started

"I know, I know, it's just so much has happened in the past two weeks on top of everything else." Nickole cut him off "First we come here and meet your mom, then your father shows up and you two have that little spat. And all that on top of Black Knight, so excuse me if I'm worried. Knowing you I bet you've been looking over your shoulder half the time."

"Yea I get it." he sighed "I guess I have every right to not be okay. But all things considered I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean think about it." Kobalt explained "I've finally got my family back, I'm home for the first time in over a decade, I've got a great group of friends, and you. All the things I have to complain about are in the past, and with all your help I've got a much better future to look forward to."

"Well you certainly have a way with words." Nickole breathed a sigh of relief "Couldn't you have just said all that instead of getting pissed off every other day?"

"Nope, that'd be too easy." He smirked "And we both know my life isn't allowed to be easy."

"Would you give yourself a break?" she asked him

"I will when you will." Kobalt said kissing her forehead "Now would you ease off and let me worry about you for a change?"

"Worry about me, over what?"

"I dunno, gimme a bit to think of something." He laughed

"Well you've got time." Nickole smiled "I could stay here all night."

"Same."

Of course eventually they had to leave, they would've regretted it the next morning if they didn't get any sleep before their first official mission. Kobalt himself got up early, figuring it might be a good idea to do some prep work before the mission. But when he got back from the shower and changing he noticed a notification on his scroll. It was Leandros, asking him to come to his office. Something was wrong, Kobalt could feel it as he read the message. How had Leandros gotten his number, and why would the headmaster want to speak with him alone? He suited up and grabbed most of his gear, leaving his helmet behind. He wandered through Haven until he finally found his way to the Headmaster's office. Unlike Beacon Tower, Haven didn't need use elevators to reach the top of the school. So instead Kobalt found himself standing at the end of a long hallway before a pair of large doors with the school's symbol emblazoned on them. He knocked a few times, each time sending a small pulse of energy inside hoping Leandros wouldn't notice. The pulses confirmed it was only Leandros inside, still Kobalt clicked off the safety on his pistol just in case.

"Come on in Kobalt." Leandros said within. Kobalt opened the door to find Leandros' office much different from Ozpin's. Bookshelves lined light brown walls with wood floor of the same color, a small coffee table and couch sat on the side of the room, and in the back a single large desk with more clutter on it then Kobalt would've expected of Haven's Headmaster. Behind the desk was a large three level window looking out over the rest of the academy and Mistral further in the distance.

"Welcome young man." Leandros said as he raised his head up from the desk. "Care to sit down? Perhaps some tea?"

"I'm fine." Kobalt said preferring to stand.

"Very well, straight to business then." He said pouring himself a cup of tea from a small set "I'm sure you're wondering why you're here, I can assure you are not in any trouble."

"Yeah? Then why the cryptic message and the request to come alone?" Kobalt asked "I don't know about you but that strikes me as suspicious."

"Yes I could tell, I'm sorry about that but I figured this was better done in person." Leandros added "There is something I'd like to ask of you, and it would easier if you couldn't just ignore the message."

"Shoot."

"If you were to return to one of Black Knight's bases, what and how much would you remember?" Leandros asked

"What's your play here?" Kobalt asked growing more wary as the conversation went on.

"We've identified what we believe to be one of their bases here in Anima." Leandros said "I planned on sending in a team of Huntsmen to investigate and take it offline."

"And you want KNGT to go?!" Kobalt asked his rage flaring "My team isn't ready for a mission like that."

"No that was never my intention, I want you to go and help a team of experienced Huntsmen however you can. And after testing your skills I'm reluctant to send them in without more intel." Leandros added "In Kage's report he said you remembered layouts, key locations and hidden entrances into the base you were at. I want you to provide whatever aid you can to the team I have selected."

"Why should I?" Kobalt asked "I don't want anything to do with those people ever again, I gave Ozpin that information so he could take them down not-"

"Damnit boy try to see my situation here!" Leandros roared "Do you think I want to send students there in the first place? No! But I also don't want to send my team in there blind! Your aid could mean the difference between success and death on this mission."

"It could also mean my capture at the hand of people you don't want me back with." Kobalt argued

"Yes it's not ideal." Leandros sighed "And the choice is yours regardless, if you decide not to that is the end of this conversation. I know you would rather not go anywhere near them again, but with your aid this mission could gain us the intel we need to bring them down without you in the future."

"So this is the serious side of you my mother was talking about." Kobalt realized "Quite the change, where was this in our duel?"

"Yes well it's good for the students to see me as someone…affable." Leandros added "Your answer?"

Kobalt wasn't sure how long he stood there, mulling the whole thing over. There were benefits to him being there sure, but there were also huge risks. What if that base held memories worse than the ones he'd known so far, what if his reaction caused another breakdown? But at the same time, deep down, part of him longed for a mission like this. For a chance to wipe Black Knight off the map, and a chance to be rid of them and free.

"Alright fine KNGT will go along with-"

"LEANDROS!" Kobalt head his mother yell as she burst through the doors, her face a twisted mask of anger that made him glad he was her son.

"What the hell are you thinking?" she roared at the Headmaster as she strode towards his desk and slammed one of her discs into it. "My son has only just come home and you want to send him back out against the people who had him all these years? I swear if it weren't for how long I've known you I'd-"

"Mom, it's okay, I already agreed to it." Kobalt cut her off "It's my choice, I'm going."

"Gal…Kobalt are you sure?" Sera turned to him "You don't have to go just because he's asked you to."

"That's not why, mom I'm never going to be free of Black Knight until one of us is gone." He told her "Even now I bet they're planning something, some kind of attack on me. If this helps the kingdoms take them out first, then I'm in."

"Excellent, go prep your team." Leandros weighed in "The ship leaves in two hours, you've got a long way to go across Lake Matsu."

A/N

This was a fun one, plenty of scene changes, a few short time skips, a couple of nice moments. Fun.  
You know except for the nightmare at the beginning and the setup for next weeks chapter.

I'll say this for Kobalt's nightmares, while his memories coming back are completely random his nightmares actually share a common trigger. Of course he's only had the two so far so it might not be clear as to what said trigger is.

And as a word of warning, chapters might start taking a few days longer to get out. Hopefully not many but I'm working on a new original story that I absolutely love so far and I want to actually work on it rather than let it sit forever. I'll try to keep KNGT coming out every Friday, but if I cant meet my own personal quota fro writing I might change it to every ten days or something.

On a different note, those first two episodes of the new season are thing. Made a last minute change to the name of the lake in this chapter so it was right with the show, but I didn't even realize the lake was named my first time watching it.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it.


	30. Chapter 30: Sable

Nickole had never felt so rushed in her life, even before when Kobalt had the location of the last base they were at he hadn't gotten them moving this quickly. He was anxious to get going this time though, like he wanted this done and over before lunch. It really was a shame, they'd had such a good time last night too. Nickole was hoping they could enjoy an easy relaxing mission for a change, maybe killing some Grimm or helping out a village. But when Kobalt told them about the mission Leandros asked them to assist on Nickole could see why he wanted to help. And though she wouldn't admit it, she was jumping at a chance to take the fight to Black Knight herself. She'd wanted payback for years, and with Kobalt's help and a team of Huntsmen they might be able to pull something off with this mission.

"Hey don't zone out on me just yet." Kobalt nudged her shoulder as they made their way to the airship "I've got a bad feeling about this, I'm going to you and the guys watching my back out there."

"You got it Blue." Nickole said grabbing his hand

"You sure about this man?" Tristan asked "I thought you didn't want anything to do with these people."

"Yeah I'm sure, I might not be with them anymore but it's not like they're just going to let me go." Kobalt sighed "I didn't exactly give them my two weeks' notice, and I may have accidently killed a few people on my way out."

"At least this base isn't in some crazy wasteland this time." Nickole added "Were heading straight for it and we know where it is this time."

"Careful with that line of thought, there's still plenty that can go wrong." Prof. Midori said coming up from the side. His tone was rougher than usual, and he had traded in his usual bandages for a solid black mask that covered from the bridge of his nose down. The rest of his face was open though, even the cybernetic parts.

"Professor?" Kobalt asked "What are you doing here?"

"Ozpin ensured I was part of the team when we got word of this mission." Kage told them "I can't let you kids go off on this one with strangers."

"Plus you're the only one with experience on Black Knight bases aside from us." Nickole added "Well it'll be good to have a friendly, face, or mask?"

"I wouldn't worry about the others honestly," Kage told her "This is a joint mission between the four kingdoms, all Huntsmen I've worked with before."

"Well this ought to be a sight." Nickole mused as they reached the airship. Already waiting there were three other Hunters, one a tall older man with greying hair tied back into a short ponytail dressed in long navy blue coat with a grey shoulder cape and leather boots. Next to him was a man with sandy hair and leather armor over a white coat, and he had a much more weathered look to him. Lastly was a shorter woman, with dark hair and a white and red top with long black leggings, at her hip were a pair of curved daggers.

"Midori, good of you to join us." The older man greeted

"Eisen." Midori nodded, stopping in his tracks before he got too close to the man.

"Still wary of me eh?" he chuckled

"Those blades of yours almost shorted out my arm the last time we were on a mission together." Midori added

"I've fixed the mechanism since then," he said raising his arms and extending dual blades out from atop his wrists. Once fully drawn electricity arced between the blades on each wrist. "See, they don't electrify until extended."

"Relax Kage, I don't like em either." The other man said, his accent thicker and more course, like sand "But I was on a mission with em the past month, they didn't bother me none."

"Ah and this must be team KNGT." The older man said "I'm Eisen Faust, of Atlas, allow me to introduce my associates, this is Nolan Strand."

"Jayz mate, associate makes me sound like some Atlas stooge." The man next to him complained "I'm from Vacuo not your barracks. Nice to meet you kids"

"Exactly kids, why are we bringing them on a mission with us?" the woman asked

"And this is Miss Verdot," Eisen introduced "Please excuse her manners."

"They are children, they'll just get in the way." She argued

"Think so do ya?" Nolan asked "This is the lad that took on your dear headmaster, the Ward boy. Or does that name not ring a bell."

"And this young miss is the daughter of Faron Gareth." Eisen added "I don't know much about the other two gentlemen here, but they both seem plenty capable."

"I still don't like it." she scoffed

"Then deal with it." Kobalt told her, Nickole could sense a lack of tolerance emitting from him as he spoke. "I don't care if you want us there or not, there's a good chance you'll need my help once we get there."

"Hmph, I like this one." Nolan chuckled

"Right, well we really ought to get a move on." Eisen coughed getting everyone's attention back to the mission at hand. "If you'd all get aboard the airship we can be off. Mr. Ward, if you wouldn't mind taking a look at the intel we've gathered so far, I'd be most grateful."

"Let's see what you've got." Kobalt obliged as he stepped onto the airship. Eisen handed him a scroll and Nickole looked over his shoulder to see what it was. A series of pictures showed a small base hidden at the edge of a forest. Barely peeking out of a small grassy hill was what looked like a concrete wall. If their past experience was any use then it would make sense for that to be a Black Knight base, they preferred to stay hidden.

"How old are these pictures?" Kobalt asked as he slid through them.

"No more than a week." Eisen told him as Midori walked passed him to the cockpit.

"It's an older base, I'll know more once I see it in person." Kobalt told the Huntsman, maybe Nickole was imagining it, but she could've sworn he was hiding something about this one.

"I understand, amnesia can be difficult to deal with I imagine." Eisen said taking the scroll back

"You have no idea." Kobalt sighed as he slid back into his seat.

"You okay?" Nickole whispered once the older Huntsman was out of earshot.

"Somethings wrong, looking at that I feel like memories should come flooding back." He told her "But instead it's like I've got a word on the tip of my tongue. It's like there's something important there, but it's buried by things I haven't remembered yet."

"Hey you didn't suddenly remember everything back when Junior first found that picture." She reminded him "The mind's a funny thing, I'm sure it'll come to you."

"I hope you're right." He sighed

"When have you known me to be wrong?" she asked him

"Well there was that one time—"

"That's not how you answer your girlfriend on that question." Nickole cut him off with a jab to his chest. It was then that Nickole overheard the sound of muffled laughter, and turned to see Eisen chuckling into his fist.

"Forgive me. But you remind me of when I was your age back at Atlas academy." He laughed "Young love, even you can't still be sour in the face of it Verdot."

"They're still children." She scoffed

"And they say Atlas specialists are stiff." Eisen sighed "We still have an hour or so before we reach our destination, the mission doesn't start until we hit the ground. Take the time to relax."

"Relaxing before a mission may as well dull my blades." Verdot said walking over to the window.

"Oh my, it seems Leandros still needs to work on teaching his subordinates." Eisen said, then the look on his face shifted into something far rougher "I don't care how strong you think you are, remaining tense before a mission is what dulls your blades. And as far as the 'children' are concerned, this young man seems to have been through more than you have in your short time as a Huntress. So my advice, fall in line and take a note from your boss; read the damn briefing."

That was more of what Nickole expected from the Atlas specialist, militant to the core. Her father had once told her that Atlas had a habit of training skilled fighters that were either great leaders or lone wolves. The former seemed to be what stood before her in the airship, she had been in her father's office once when he spoke with General Ironwood, and the similarities were uncanny. Granted Eisen seemed much older.

"I read the briefing," Verdot argued "But this Black Knight shouldn't pose a big enough threat to the four of us that we need their help."

"Verdot you're aware what I've been through right?" Midori asked walking out of the cockpit "These people scare me, so stop putting so much faith into your own skill that you forget there is always someone better."

"Yes well said Midori." Eisen said about to pat him on the back

"Eisen if you touch me I swear to God." Midori warned

"Fine, fine." He said backing up.

It was another hour before the airship started descending, but eventually they found themselves in a small clearing about a mile away from the base. Much like Sanus, Anima was covered in thick forests in this part of its region. The area they were headed for was another larger clearing atop a cliff edge. Already things felt strange, the forest was too quiet, and Kobalt seemed to notice it as well. The second he stepped off the airship he drew his sword.

"Something's wrong, even if they didn't know I was with you they should've launched an attack by now." Kobalt announced "Stay ready, this isn't like them."

"Could they be threatened by superior strength?" Eisen asked extending his blades.

"They wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice soldiers to keep us from the base even a second longer." Kobalt shook his head "And don't underestimate what they can do, they know were here. They just haven't shown themselves yet."

"Understood, push forward quickly before they have time to lay a trap." Eisen nodded already taking off quickly "Nolan can you sense anything?"

"There's hardly a drop a moisture in the air, I've got nothing." Nolan told them "I told them I'd be near useless here. Give me the open sea any day."

"Hang on does anyone else feel that?" Tristan asked "The air is, heavy."

Now that he mentioned it Nickole did notice that something felt dark here, like there was a presence that shouldn't be around. She looked over at the four Huntsmen with them to see if they were feeling the same, Nolan shook his head and Midori seemed to be hiding a smile underneath his mask.

"Never underestimate the gift of inexperience Verdot," Eisen spoke up "We've forgotten the feel of large packs of Grimm, prepare yourselves they're just ahead."

In an instant Eisen and Verdot dashed forward through the forest, Kobalt followed shortly behind drawing Nickole along with the rest of the team. They broke through the trees shortly later to see the largest group of Grimm Nickole could imagine swarming the clearing where the base was supposed to be. Attempting to fight them off were dozens of soldiers, but they barely seemed to be keeping up with the overwhelming number of monsters attacking them. Parts of the underground base were blown open and exposed to the surface.

"What the hell is going on, why are there so many Grimm here?" Nickole asked

"Despair, anger, negativity." Nolan spoke out "Grimm are drawn to them like water from a well."

"Something's going on inside the base." Midori nodded "We need a plan."

"Hang on something's coming up on my HUD." Kobalt spoke up behind them "It's another Aura bar…"

As he trailed off Nickole felt the temperature around her spike instantly, she had felt this enough times to know by now. One look at Kobalt confirmed it, he was ablaze with fire, the blue flames burning hotter by the second. Without taking a moment to speak he rushed off, sprinting at top speed for the base.

"Sable!" he shouted as he ran "Hold on I'm on my way!"

"Shite what's he thinking?" Nolan shouted drawing a pair fencing sabers from seemingly out of thin air. "We need to get in there and cover the lad."

"Kobalt!" Nickole yelled already charging down after him, her shield raised in front of her. She already knew he wasn't thinking, something had come back to him and he was acting on impulse alone at this point. She watched as he barreled down the hill, not slowing down one bit. One soldier took notice of him and raised his rifle. Nickole watched in awe as Kobalt cleaved the man with his sword, sending him flying far in the distance. The next second an Ursa rose off of one soldier and moved on to Kobalt, a short burst of flame and the creatures head had been burned clean off. She was so busy watching him she didn't even notice the beowolf next to her, she turned her head to the sound of its growl just in time to see it impaled by a short katana. She looked behind her to see Midori standing above her.

"Midori, Gareth! Cover Kobalt!" Eisen shouted as he sped along following Kobalt's path. "Nolan with me, were following him in there. Verdot, Glaucous, and Titian clear out the Grimm as quickly as you can and catch up."

"Come on Nickole, you gonna let him take this whole place on alone." Midori asked as his body crackled with plasma running through it.

He was right she needed to focus, she was no good to Kobalt if she was distracted the whole time. She raised Damocles in rifle form and fired at the Grimm who began to turn to Kobalt. As she shifted their attention to her instead she switched into blade form and boosted herself to the nearest one, she cleaved the head off a beowolf and kept moving. Rounds from Tristan's sniper flew passed her blowing apart Grimm around both her and Midori.

"Get moving after him I'll handle the Grimm on your flanks." Tristan told her over the com link. "He's drawing more than just their attention."

Nickole looked over to see he was right, every so often some soldier would try to point Kobalt out only to be taken out by Grimm. But there were dozens of soldiers, and eventually a safer one saw him charging down the hill.

"It's Kobalt!" he shouted pointing towards him "Bring him down!"

All together a group of soldiers raised their weapons in a firing line just as Kobalt got within range of them. He was too close to dodge as the weapons fired, but before anything had the chance to hit Kobalt the flames burning around him exploded.

"Get out of my way!" he shouted sweeping his sword across the field. An explosion of flame rang out and engulfed the firing line sending them flying into the trees. Kobalt continued racing on ahead. Nickole followed as close behind as she could with how fast he was moving, but as far back as she was she noticed the number of soldiers and Grimm were rapidly shrinking. Between Tristan's sniping and what Nickole figured was Verdot cutting them down in a flash of blades, the Grimm were down to hardly anything at all. And the soldiers had been wiped out already. She couldn't help but wonder just how long this fight had been going on in the first place. And why a group that made someone as strong as Kobalt couldn't survive a Grimm attack that the eight of them had burned through so quickly.

She would have her answers soon enough, Kobalt reached the main door of the base and ripped it open. Just as he did a huge explosion rocked the forest and Nickole saw fire rip through the ground far ahead of them, tearing open an immense section of the base.

"No!" Kobalt roared as the explosion settled, he rushed off into the base alone once again. Nickole followed shortly behind with Midori next to her and the rest of the team catching up. Somehow Nickole managed to catch up to Kobalt as he navigated through the base to where the explosion originated. Strewn throughout the base were dozens of people knocked over and coated in blood, the explosion must've been brutal. But many lacked burns significant enough to be fatal, rather they had stab wounds and large gashes cut into them. Clean and precise, not even shrapnel would've done that too them. Eventually they made their way to a large central room reminiscent of the one where Kobalt's memories of Black Knight first returned. Littering the floor were at least twenty people in high end combat armor, and standing in the center was someone in light white armor. It looked like a similar design to Kobalt's armor, only a little less advanced and heavily damaged, the helmet was less angled and more square, and they had a tattered cloak over it as well. When Kobalt entered the room the knight looked at him and raised their sword.

"Sable no it's me!" Kobalt shouted as he brought his own blade up to parry the sword away. "Stop!"

The knight made attack after attack on Kobalt, each one weakening them greatly. Eventually Kobalt managed to get enough distance between them to remove his helmet.

"Sable it's me, remember?" he asked lowering his sword.

"K-Kobalt?" a girl's voice came from under the helm. She lowered her sword and nearly collapsed, Kobalt rushed over and caught her before she hit the ground. That was when Nickole noticed the girl's arm was covered in blood, and her leg had a large piece of metal jutting out it. Both wounds were quickly covering the rest over her armor in red. With her good arm she barely managed to pull her helmet halfway off, Kobalt had to do it for her. She was about Nickole's age, with long dark brown hair. Her face was covered in cuts and bruises that she must've gotten before she managed to get her helmet on.

"I knew you'd make it." she managed to say "I'm glad I got to see you again."

"Don't talk like that, you're going to be alright Sable." Kobalt pleaded, he looked over at everyone else. Even Midori was shaking his head sadly. "No, no there's got to be something I can do."

Nickole had no idea what to do, she didn't have any way to heal someone. And even with some medical knowledge, she had lost too much blood. This girl, whoever she was didn't have long, and Nickole was terrified about how Kobalt would handle that.

"It's all my fault." He said "I should've gotten here sooner, I should've remembered you sooner."

"Kobalt, it's okay." Sable told him "I heard from the Chairman you lost your memory and had been turned against us. Damn fool must not have known I knew what he was up to same as you, he planned on sending me to bring you back."

"That is something he would do," Kobalt smiled weakly "Sable I'm so sorry, we should've gotten out together."

"Well were out, and here we are." She said "You know we promised to tell each other our real names once we made it. I'm Cornaline Charlemagne, nice to meet you."

That was when it hit Nickole, this girl Sable, was like Kobalt was to Black Knight. Someone they planned on turning into a living weapon, they must've known each other for years.

"Gallin, Gallin Ward." Kobalt said, Nickole caught sight of a tear forming in his eye.

"Hah, I like Kobalt better." Sable said shivering

"And I like Sable better, where are you from?" Kobalt asked

"Patch, small town near towards the edge of the island." She coughed "If that old priest could see me now, I'd be in for a lecture."

"Parents? Do you still have any family there?"

"Gone, back before Black Knight." Sable managed to say "Dad got sick, and my mom was killed by bandits. Black Knight, helped me find them, make them pay. You're the closest thing to family I've got left, and here you are."

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner." Kobalt said as his voice finally broke.

"I told you its fine," she reassured him "Hey, I've got something for you, hold out your hand."

Nickole looked on as Kobalt held out an open hand and the longsword Sable had been fighting with materialized in his hands. It began forming from raw light to a wireframe to a solid object. As it finished materializing Kobalt grabbed on to it, it was almost exactly like the one he used, only silver with a white handle.

"Durandal, you're giving this to me?" Kobalt asked in awe

"Now, when I tell you run your Aura through it." Sable instructed "Ready? Go"

"Y-yeah." He said, and suddenly the blade disappeared into thin air.

"Take care of that for me." Sable gasped, she was getting paler now. Almost as white as snow.

"Sable?" Kobalt asked, shaking her as more tears started building up in his eyes. "Don't go damnit, don't."

"You have to save him Kobalt." Sable breathed, barely clinging on now "That poor kid they brought in after us, save him."

"I will, I promise." Kobalt choked out

"I know, you never let me down." Sable smiled "And Kobalt, one last thing."

"Yeah?"

"You seem to have made some pretty good friends while you were gone." Sable said looking at Nickole, who was at a complete loss for words, this girl didn't have long. "Don't do what I did, don't ever let them go."

"That includes you, you know." Kobalt told her, tears starting to fall down his face. "Damnit why won't you blame me for this? Get mad something, you're not the type of person to go this quietly."

"I can't, not with you here. Thank you Kobalt, thank you for being my friend." With that she started to close her eyes, and Nickole fell to her knees. She barely even knew this girl, and yet watching her fade like this was starting to tear Nickole apart.

At that moment it was like a light went out in front of them, her hand dropped from Kobalt's side and the whole forest got quiet.

"Sable? Hey come one wake up. Sable?" Kobalt begged

"Kobalt I'm so sorry she's…"Nickole started, but even she couldn't find the words. It almost seemed cruel to say them aloud.

"NOOOOOOO!" Kobalt roared, the ground around him burst into blue flames so high they nearly eclipsed the sun above them. The floor around him melted as he cried and reduced the area he was in to a molten crater.

"Nolan get back to the ship, start getting prepped to leave." Eisen sighed "Let's get these kids home. Midori find a console or something, rip every bit of data you can from this blasted place."

"No, I taking her to her home." Kobalt said standing up, carrying Sable's body. "She deserves better than being left out here."

"Home is Patch for her," Midori reaching for a computer, a small disc in hand. "It's too far for us to take her back."

"I'll take him." A voice said behind Nickole. She turned to see a man in bright white armor and dark brown hair standing there, a red scarf around his neck and a white helmet in his hands. He almost seemed familiar, yet she couldn't place him. The man started walking over to Kobalt, a sad look on his face.

"Stop," Midori said dashing between the man and Kobalt, his sword at the ready "I don't know who you are but you're not going anywhere with one of my students."

"Easy Kage," Eisen said grabbing Midori's arm "Marek, how long have you been here?"

"Father?" Kobalt asked "When did, what are you doing here?"

That was why he had looked so familiar, add a beard and grey to the armor and the man standing before her was the man Kobalt had torn into a week ago.

"Your mother was worried about you with this mission," he explained "She asked me to follow you and make sure you were safe."

"You can get me to Patch?"

"I took your grandfather's airship." Marek said "It's small but fast enough to get us there in a flash."

Kobalt nodded and started following his father off towards wherever he landed.

"Wait," Nickole said pushing herself to her feet, "Is there room for one more?"

"Yea, barely." Marek said

"Then I'm coming." Nickole said running up to them "I'm staying with Kobalt no matter what."

"He'll be fine you have my word." Marek said, he seemed almost skeptical

"Dad, it's okay." Kobalt said "She has the right to come."

Without another word he continued walking towards where his father was leading him, leaving the two of them behind.

"Dad, he hasn't called me dad since I got back." Marek mused

Nickole followed the two of them to the clearing their airship had landed in earlier. Sitting next to the Bullhead they came in was another much smaller airship. This one far sleeker and white, it was more like a fighter than a transport with an edged nose and a swept wing design. Marek hit a button on his forearm and the back end of the ship folded down into a ramp, inside was enough room for four people, maybe a little more. Nickole climbed in after Kobalt and his father, taking a seat in the back where she'd be able to keep an eye on Kobalt. She could tell he was far from okay, she wasn't doing so well herself. But Kobalt had known Sable for years if she had to guess, and he clearly wasn't taking it well. In fact she was surprised he was holding together as well as he was, the only reason Nickole was still calm was because she was worried about him.

A/N

Maybe I should stop trying to mentally break one of my main characters. And frankly, Sable's death is only going to affect Kobalt more as time goes on and more memories of her come back to him.

So I wanted that death scene to feel kind of one-sided here since only Kobalt knows who Sable is and everyone else is in the dark. I felt it would be better to handle things that way then introduce a dozen flashbacks from Kobalt's perspective to explain why this is such a big loss for him. And slowly as the story progresses more of her relationship with Kobalt is revealed through not only flashbacks, but I'm also thinking of having someone read her Black Knight file as well.

Oh that's another thing I'm working on, the Black Knight Subject Files. Kobalt, Sable, and our mystery boy. Right now their mostly references similar to character bios for me to use but maybe when I have time I could make them more professional and release them if anyone's into that sort of thing.

Edit: As of 4/16/18 Sable's birth name has been changed to better reflect her character inspiration. Though it may seem a sudden change as well as a useless one as she uses Sable permanently and is dead anyway, her original name never sat right with me. And I've been working on trying to come up with a better one on the side for a while now. Thanks to a bit of help her birth name now properly reflect her inspiration from Roland, one of the 12 Paladins of Charlemagne.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it.


	31. Chapter 31: Promises

Marek gunned the engine of his airship as soon as they hit cruising altitude. He was glad Sera had asked him to follow Kobalt and his team, the things he'd seen from above were frightening enough. While everyone on the ground had been distracted by the Grimm, he had landed and took out a few soldiers trying to escape. Their dedication to the mysterious organization was terrifying, the few Marek had taken the spare time to try and question looked like they'd sooner cut their own throats. And the base, even in ruins Marek could tell just how advanced it was. He had spent years in Atlas training before going to Haven, but that base was just as advanced if not more. Whoever this Black Knight was it was clear as day they were not to be taken lightly. And whoever that Sable girl was, it seemed she was at the center of the explosion that went off inside that base. He could only imagine what she must've been doing in there to cause such a blast.

"This is an Atlas ship isn't it?" the young girl with Kobalt asked, interrupting Marek's line of thought. So this was the girl Sera had told him about, Nickole, Sera said her name was. Sera had said the girl reminded her of Marek's late sister and she did to a degree. She had his sister's caring nature and similar mannerisms, but the rest was all different. Of course that was likely a result of the Ward family training, it tended to settle people into a rather strict way of carrying themselves. Marek was pretty sure he was the exception.

"Yea, it was a gift from Sera's father when we got married." he told her "Should get us to Patch soon."

"Where were you hiding this thing?" Kobalt asked, his voice was still broken from before. Marek wished there was something more he could do, but as it stood his son probably wouldn't accept anything from him.

"What you don't think we keep a car in the garage do you?" Marek attempted to joke, of course it didn't sit well with Kobalt. Nothing was going to sit well with him right now, he was still carrying the body of the girl who died in his arms. "We'll be coming up on Patch shortly, where was this village of hers."

"By the west coast, there's a small church at the edge of town." Kobalt added. Sure enough within a half an hour Marek found the small island and shortly after the village Kobalt mentioned. It was a small town, Marek didn't even know its name, he never went to Patch that often, not unless he needed to meet up with other Huntsmen before a job. And that was years ago. He set the ship down by the edge of town hoping no one had seen them come in. When they all got out he activated the security sensors on the ship just in case. Kobalt's feet were barely on the ground before he took off. Moving as fast as he was Marek was shocked they managed to catch up, he was even more shocked someone recognized his son.

"Kobalt!" an old voice called, Marek turned to see an old priest walking up to them. "My word it has been some time young man how are…"

His voice trailed off when he saw the body Kobalt was carrying, Marek saw a pained look in his eyes, like something he feared had come true.

"That's Cornaline isn't it?" the priest asked "It's been years since I saw her but…dear lord she looks just like her mother."

"Yeah, I had known her back before I…." Kobalt stammered "She'd have wanted to be buried here."

"I always feared she had died as a child when she vanished after her parents died." The priest said "Poor girl, to live through something like that only to die all these years later."

"She used to mention an oak tree by the water she loved to hang out by." Kobalt said "Do you know where that is?"

"Yes of course, please follow me." he said quietly already moving ahead of them.

"Thank you, Father Jacobs." Kobalt sighed following closely behind. Marek couldn't help but wonder what his son had been doing the last few months, let alone the past eleven years. It certainly wasn't what Marek had planned for him when he was growing up, but his choice on the matter had been voided long ago.

It wasn't long before Father Jacobs led them to the edge of the island to a tiny beach that was just large enough for their small group. Jutting out before the beach was a tiny outlet of dirt with a large oak tree planted at the edge, it was hundreds of years old at the least. Kobalt had just reached his hand into the dirt to dig when Nickole grabbed his shoulder.

"Let me Kobalt." she said pulling him back up, she reached one hand into the dirt, pulled it back up and a moment later the dirt exploded upwards and settled over to the side. At the bottom of the pit Marek noticed a small orange glowing symbol. Kobalt slowly lowered the girl into the grave and started filling it back up with dirt.

"You must be Kobalt's father," the priest said quietly as Kobalt slowly filled the grave. "You have his looks."

"Usually that statement is worded the other way." Marek smiled

"Yes well, given the circumstances of his memory I felt it appropriate." Jacobs added "How long ago did you two reconnect?"

"We haven't really, I reunited with him almost a week ago." Marek admitted "I have some work to do before we reconnect."

"Well if it's any help your son is a great man. He saved my life twice when he woke up here all those months ago." Jacobs said "And asked for nothing in return, I get the feeling he does that often."

Marek watched as his son finished filling the grave for his friend, he hadn't asked for any of this, but one choice as a boy and Kobalt had been through far too much than he deserved. At the age of eighteen he had watched a good friend die, without being able to do anything. Marek had at least been a few years older before he had first dealt with death.

"Would anyone like to say a few words perhaps?" Jacobs asked

"The dead can't hear us." Marek said, his own memories of losing people coming to the surface.

"Well I'd like to say something," the old priest continued "I remember the girl Cornaline was, she was so spirited talking back to anyone who gave her a hard time. I never thought anything could get her down, even after her father died she still tried to stay positive. When her mother passed I offered to look after her until someone who could properly take care of her was found. She declined and took care of herself for days before she disappeared, I will always admire that."

"I didn't know Cornaline ," Kobalt spoke up "I knew Sable, a member of Black Knight, an amazing fighter, and my friend. It was strange, neither of us knew a thing about each other when we met, yet someone within minutes we had become friends. Maybe it was the training, maybe the fact that everyone else in the organization all but ignored us, I don't know. What I do know is that I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for her, she hacked into the database on a dare. When she told me what she found I broke out within the month, I would've gone to save her but…"

"You landed here and lost your memory didn't you?" Nickole asked him

"That's not good enough," Kobalt continued "I should have remembered her sooner, she was my only friend for years. How can someone forget their only friend?"

"By forgetting everything that happened to him." Nickole said putting a hand on his shoulder. That should've been Marek there, trying to comfort his son. He was glad Kobalt had someone like this girl with him, but he had to admit he envied her. She had known him a few months, and had a better relationship then he did with his own son.

"You know son, it took seeing your mother in person for you to remember her." Marek suddenly realized "You cared more about her than anyone growing up. If it took being face to face to remember her, I'm surprised you could remember anything."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. But still," Kobalt walked up to the tree and pressed his hand to the trunk "I made two promises to her, I broke the first one, I need to keep the second."

Marek watched as his son's hand began to glow bright blue, when he pulled it away from the tree a small scorch mark was left in its place, a dark black sword. They very same symbol Marek saw on his son's shoulder guard.

"I swear, I will find him." Kobalt said kneeling in front of the grave, "And after that I will burn Black Knight to the ground, there won't be enough of them left to see what I've done."

"Careful with that thought child." Father Jacobs warned "There is a fine line between justice and revenge. Such as there is a fine line between piety and depravity."

"You may not have noticed Father, but I'm not the most religious person." Kobalt stood up, a grave look on his face. "If you knew the things I've done, I'm sure you'd damn me to whatever hell you believe in."

"Kobalt I've seen the things you've done since getting away from Black Knight, and I saw how bravely you charged in there to save your friend." Nickole comforted him "You deserve something better than hell, and so did she."

Nickole walked to the edge of the grave herself now, she knelt and waved her hand above the ground in front of the tree. Marek noticed a bright white symbol glow on the ground in the shape of Vale's symbol. From the earth erupted a small bright white lily flower, already in full bloom.

"Thank you for helping Kobalt escape, I wish I could've gotten to know you." Nickole breathed "You deserve a better than this and I know you're probably worried about Kobalt. I'll keep him safe, no matter what. For both of your sakes."

She walked back over to Kobalt and took his hand in hers, that was when Marek realized just how much the two of them had been through together. Kobalt was glad Nickole was there, it was obvious by the way his face softened when she grabbed his hand. Trying time or not, having her there was helping him. Marek wasn't sure if his son felt even remotely the same about him right now, though he doubted it. As they walked back to the airship he couldn't help but think of just how bad of a parent he might've actually been all those years ago. He had been so sure what he was doing was the right thing back then, had he been more than wrong?

"Hey dad," Kobalt stopped him as they reached the ship "I don't think you two have been properly introduced. This is Nickole Gareth, my girlfriend."

"Yeah your mother filled me in." Marek smiled at the mere thought of his son calling him dad instead of father. "But it is nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise, it's too bad we had to meet under these circumstances." Nickole sighed

"She's right you know." Marek agreed "I know this is a stupid question to ask, but are you going to be alright son?"

"I really hate that question." He sighed

"Kobalt." Nickole pressed

"I've killed people, I've watched others die." Kobalt said before taking a deep breath "But I've never had someone I care about die in my arms. No, no I'm not going to be alright."

"If there's anything I can do-" Marek started

"There isn't, for either of you I'm afraid." Kobalt added, "But I've made too many promises. One to Sable, and one to you Nickole."

"Oh would you stop with the whole carefree promise already!" Nickole yelled at him "I told you with everything you've been though it's okay to be a little serious every now and again."

"Yeah but I-" Kobalt started

"But nothing." Nickole cut him off "You can't pretend to be carefree all the time, that would be impossible."

"Yeah maybe you're right." Kobalt smiled

"Of course I am."

Marek couldn't help but stifle a laugh, they reminded him so much of Sera and himself. Of course in their situation their roles were reversed from his own, with Nickole being the one to help Kobalt, instead of the other way around with Sera and he. With all that had happened it was nice to see such compassion between the two.

"Come on let's get back to Mistral." Nickole said moving to the ship

"Just a second, I want to try something." Kobalt said taking a step back. He reached out with his left hand, and from a blaze of blue flame he pulled the sword Sable had given him. But it seemed different, darker. The silver blade had dulled to a dark grey, almost as dark as Kobalt's other sword. And the white handle had turned into a flat black.

"How did you do that?" Marek gasped

"Sable's semblance, she was able to link items to Aura." Kobalt explained "She must've found out how to do it with other people after I left. She always said drawing her blade was a strange sensation, now I know what she meant."

"It's good to have something to remember her by." Marek said "Come on, let's get you home."

Kobalt flexed his arm, damn thing was still stiff from the infusion weeks ago, the spot on his arm the tube had gone into was bandaged heavily too. At least the bleeding had stopped after the first few days. The Chairman had been right, Kobalt was able to survive the process but it was still the most painful thing he'd endured yet. Five weeks later and he was still fatigued, stiff, and sore everywhere with his arm being the worst. Chairman Dusk had been so concerned that he shipped Kobalt off to Atlas where Black Knight's best medical facility was. All they could tell was that his body was still adjusting to whatever they put in him, but whatever it was it had already started having large effects. Kobalt noticed he had shot up in height during those short weeks, and his strength was increasing rapidly as well. He didn't exactly look ripped, but he sure as hell felt it. Looking in the mirror he just looked like a bigger version of the guy he'd been before the infusion. As though he'd aged years in a few weeks.

"So Kobalt how do you feel?" a doctor asked walking into the room he was in, eyes glued to his clipboard. Occasionally they wandered off to look Kobalt up and down, dressed in nothing more than pants and a few bandages covering his upper body Kobalt almost felt vulnerable, almost. Whenever a member of Black Knight found out who Kobalt was they always gave him the cold shoulder.

"A bit better I guess," Kobalt shrugged used to the coldness over the years. "I figure I'm just getting more used to, whatever that infusion was."

"It was a chemical synthesis of your muscle tissue, increasing its density significantly." The doctor replied flipping through pages on his clipboard "As well an additional compound that accelerates tissue repair."

"And speeds up growth." Kobalt added

"You were likely about to hit a growth spurt before that, the compound merely heightened it."

"You just here to rattle all that off to me?" Kobalt asked

"No I'm here to tell you that after twenty four hours of monitoring we don't see any problems with your health." The doctor told him "Another day or two and you should be back to normal. You may return to your regular quarters and activities."

"Good, oh and next time you order new supplies spring for better beds." Kobalt added hopping out of the small hospital bed. "Only a rock could sleep comfortably on that thing."

He wasted no time booking it out of the medical wing and went straight for his room. If there was one perk to all those talks with the Chairman it was that he managed to convince the big man that he needed a better bed at each base. And after a day and two nights stuck in that hospital one he needed to sleep in a real bed. Fortunately he knew his way around this base better than most of the rest, in the seven years since he'd joined four of them had been spent in Atlas. It was the closest thing to home he knew these days, he always wound up back here eventually. He was just entering the wing with his private room when a door across the hall from his opened. Out of it walked one of the Directors, Roux if memory served, he was followed shortly by a young girl. She looked to be about Kobalt's age, with long brown hair and dark eyes. Unlike most personnel she wasn't wearing a uniform, instead she wore a grey tank top and pants.

"Let me know if there are any issues with your new quarters, it's far easier to get supplies here than at the Vacuo base." Roux said as they walked out

"It shouldn't be a problem Director, it seems to be just like my old room." The girl nodded, then they noticed Kobalt entering the wing and the Director's eyes lit up briefly.

"Ahh, I see the infusion went over well." Roux noted looking over Kobalt "Well in that case I'll leave you two to get acquainted."

He left without another word, speeding along his way a turning towards the hanger.

"He's not one for conversation is he?" the girl asked as he watched the Roux leave.

"The Directors never are." Kobalt answered "You new here? I don't think we've met."

"New to Atlas," the girl answered "I've spent most of my time in the Vacuo and Mistral bases."

"Must've been in the other whenever I was in one of the two." He realized "Name's Kobalt."

"I'm Sable, nice to meet you." she said with a smile she said extending her hand.

"Sable?" Kobalt asked shaking hands

"Codename, same as yours." She told him "I don't mind, kinda left my old name behind years ago."

"When you joined I gather?" Kobalt asked.

"Around then yeah, god it must be almost six years now." She thought aloud.

"Time sure flies huh? It's been close to seven for me." Kobalt shrugged "Most of my time's been up here though."

"Well then you must know your way around pretty well." Sable noted "Care to show a girl to the mess hall, I'm starving."

"Yea sure follow me." Kobalt said heading out ahead of her.

"Right now? You don't want to throw a shirt on?" She asked "Aren't you cold?

"What too distracting?" Kobalt chuckled "I just got back here from a year in Vale, none of my old clothes fit."

"Well I suppose you could look worse." Sable laughed with him as she walked side by side with him.

 _Finally someone who isn't like the rest of these unfeeling ice statues._ Kobalt thought happily.

Kobalt wasn't quite sure how he found the bar so quickly, but he had barely been outside Haven for ten minutes before he walked through the doors of a small bar. After waking up Kobalt through on a pair of pants, his jacket, and boots then quietly walked out of the dorm with his sword slung across his back. As soon as he found it he walked straight into the bar, sat down on a stool and called the bartender over. That was when someone walked up next to him.

"What the hell is a boy like you doing here, this place is for men not kids." A man complained to him. Kobalt turned to see a short man, with a squashed nose and a scar on his lip staring at him.

"Buzz off," Kobalt warned him "Unless you want me to carve that nose clean off your face."

"What was that boy?" the man said backing up and drawing a revolver on him. Kobalt barely even registered the fact that this man was trying to frighten him.

"Look, I've had one hell of a day, and I don't feel like dealing with someone who's got a bigger ego than his brain." Kobalt said not even bothering to look at the man "So either drop the gun and walk away, or pull the trigger and hope I hold back."

"Why you little…" Kobalt heard the sound of a hammer being drawn back and reached his hand up to his sword. After everything that had happened, the very idea of this man hurting Kobalt was almost laughable, and in a moment he was going to regret even looking at him.

"Easy there pal," a voice warned. Kobalt turned to see his father standing there, drawing more than a little attention from the other patrons. "Pull that trigger and you're in for more than you bargained for."

"Ward?" the man asked in awe lowering his gun "I'm sorry sir, I didn't know he was a friend of yours."

He ran away without another word, Kobalt knew his father was well known in the Huntsman world but that wasn't what he had in mind.

"Kobalt," he said sitting on the stool next to him "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" Kobalt said flagging down the bartender again "I was back at Haven, asleep like everyone else when some of my memories started coming back. The things I just relived in my dreams…everything just hit me all over again."

"It'll come and go like waves in the sea," his dad sighed "It gets easier."

"Yea, I had a feeling you'd say something like that." Kobalt sighed as the bartender came up "One Atlas."

"2oz of whiskey, dry vermouth and bitters, on the rocks." Marek ordered

" **Two** Atlases got it." the bartender said walking to the end of the bar where he kept the whiskey.

"Since when is an Atlas-?" his father wondered

"That's on me, I might've done that a few months back." Kobalt cut him off "Who'd have thought Junior would spread the name so fast. Or that I'd even remember your pseudo nightcap."

"I suppose it needed a name after all," he said "It's a good drink."

"Yea it is." Kobalt said taking a large sip once his came up.

"Well I'll be damned, what are the odds I'd run into you here of all places?" a man asked taking the open seat next to Kobalt. The overly strong scent of alcohol on his breath was enough for Kobalt to know who it was. There was only one person he knew who could over power the scent of alcohol in a bar.

"Qrow." Kobalt greeted into his glass. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like, I'm drinking." He answered flagging the bartender "Bourbon, neat. You?"

"What do you care?" Kobalt asked

"You make it sound like I wouldn't. You forget the stuff I've done for ya?" Qrow asked "Heard you finally got some of your memory back, figured I'd come say congrats. So if that's the case why are you here?"

Kobalt flashed him a murderous look, he didn't feel like dealing with some half drunk, crass Huntsman.

"Geez, bite my head off for a simple question." Qrow sighed "I heard about the people you were with, surprised you're not goin after 'em."

"Qrow was it?" his father asked "I don't think we've met but if you don't mind my son's been through enough today."

"Your son? Well you're doing a great job raising him if you ask me." Qrow laughed "You know if it weren't for me he wouldn't have even gotten into Beacon."

"Maybe not, maybe he would've found his way back home instead and remembered who he is sooner." Marek countered

"Yeah I'm sure that would've turned out great, I know who you are Marek." Qrow said "Imagine the homecoming, the Huntsman who abandons his duty to chase down shadows welcomes home the kid who spent his life-"

"Would you both shut up?!" Kobalt yelled at the two "I came here because I thought no one would bother me at a bar like this."

"You came here to drink away your pain, excuse me for being concerned about my son." His father said

"You know a better way to drown out pain?" Qrow asked taking a gulp of his drink

"Not really." His father sighed "But it's not good for someone his age."

"Dad I'm eighteen almost nineteen, I've been able to drink for almost a year now." Kobalt sighed "Sable would've been too."

"Who's Sable?" Qrow asked confused

"An old friend of mine, the only one I had for years with Black Knight." Kobalt explained "She died, earlier today, in my arms."

"What and you're blaming yourself?" Qrow cocked an eyebrow "Listen kid, unless you're the one that killed her then you-"

"It is my fault." Kobalt cut him off "I might not have killed her but I should've been able to save her."

"Another hero who thinks he could've saved them all." Qrow sighed "It's a pipe dream kid, you can't save everyone."

"It didn't have to be everyone, just her. She was the only one I needed to save." Kobalt added, almost breaking down. "If I could've only done that, if I could've only remembered…"

Kobalt couldn't get the words out, even thinking about it was breaking him apart again. It wasn't fair, there was no one else he had ever owed anything to, no one else only he could've saved. There was one person, that was it, and he had failed them.

"If you had remembered, if you had never forgotten," his father started "if you had gone straight to save her, would it have turned out better?"

"What?"

"If you had saved her, would everything that happened after be better?" Marek continued "Do you know how everything would've gone?"

"I don't understand, of course everything would've turned out better she'd still be alive and I…" that was when it hit him. If he had never forgotten anything, and gone rushing off to save Sable, he never would've stopped in Sable's home village. He never would've saved Father Jacobs, he never would've gone to Beacon, and he never would've met Nickole.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't be upset, or that you shouldn't mourn your friend." His dad said putting a hand on his shoulder "But dreading how something could've turned out will destroy you. And after that big speech earlier about how you were going to keep your promise to her you can't afford to fall apart."

"S'not like you chose to forget everything." Qrow added "And from what I can tell you've been doing pretty well at Beacon. You've got a team, good friends, and a girl who would follow you to the ends of Remnant if you asked. Yeah life is hard, sometimes not everyone makes it out, but you're luckier than most kid."

"My friend is dead, you think saying something like that is going to make me feel better?" Kobalt nearly spat at Qrow.

"Maybe not, but don't ignore all the things that have come your way just because of one bad thing." Qrow shrugged

"I've had plenty of bad things come my way in life." Kobalt sighed "More than you could imagine."

"Try me." Qrow laughed "You're not the only person to lose someone kid."

"And you're not the only to blame themselves, I lost two of my friends years ago because of a choice I made." his father added "There may have been a way to save them and Sera, but there wasn't time for me to find out."

"And how did you move on?" Kobalt asked

"I didn't, not until almost a year later, when you were born." He said "I didn't know it at the time, but your mother was pregnant on that mission. I will always miss my friends, but I made the choice to save her and you, I will never regret that."

"Somehow I don't see that happening to me." Kobalt added as he knocked back his drink and stood up from the bar. "I'm leaving, oh and Qrow,"

"Yeah kid?"

"Thanks for the drink." Kobalt said walking away

"Yea, yea, put it on my tab." Qrow muttered

"I'll see you tomorrow dad." Kobalt added as he headed for the exit.

"You're coming back home?"

"Yeah, it's going to be hard for you to make things up if I'm somewhere else." Kobalt added "Oh, Nickole will probably be coming with me, mom invited her over."

"You asking me for permission?" Marek checked

"No."

It wasn't long before he found himself back at Haven, in the dorm room that had been assigned to KNGT upon their arrival. Something about it got him thinking, if he had never joined Black Knight he might've gone to school here instead of Beacon. He might be on a different team, he might be in Furi's shoes too. And on top of all that he might just now be meeting Nickole during the Tournament. What would Gallin Ward have thought of her, he wondered, would they have wound up together? It was a question he couldn't help but ask himself after everything that had happened today. Of course the answer probably wasn't one he wanted to know, Gallin Ward had been an overconfident dreamer obsessed with becoming a hero. He smiled as he opened the door to the room, as strange as it was, he didn't regret joining Black Knight. He regretted putting his faith in the wrong person, but not the rest, if only in a few areas his life was better because of his choices.

"Hey there you are." Nickole whispered as he entered the room, she was standing in front of the door with a jacket and sweatpants over her pajamas. "I was about to come looking for you where'd you go?"

"Just needed to clear my head." Kobalt told her

"You okay?"

"I'm better now." He said pulling her into a hug

"You sure?" Nickole said embracing him back.

"It's nothing," he smiled "Nothing to worry about at least."

 _Sorry Sable, but you're not the only one I owe everything to._ Kobalt thought as he let go. _I wish you could've gotten to know Nickole, you two would've gotten along great._

"Well get some rest." Nickole ordered him "You've had a rough day."

"Yeah, rough." Kobalt echoed as he threw off his jacket and sat on his bed.

"You sure you're alright?" Nickole asked "It's just, you lost someone pretty important earlier, and you're clearly trying not be upset."

"She wouldn't have wanted me to fall apart." Kobalt mused as he lied back in bed. "Do you?"

"Of course not, but you don't have to pretend to be okay." Nickole told him as she sat down next to him.

"I'm far from okay." Kobalt sighed "But I've got you here don't I? I'll manage."

"You certainly have a way with words." Nickole sighed lying back with him.

"Umm, Tristan and Justin are right there." Kobalt pointed out

"Like I care right now," she scoffed "Your chest is more comfortable than the pillows here."

"Yeah that's why you're doing this." Kobalt chuckled

"Just shut up already." Nickole yawned "I'm right here if you need anything, so get some rest."

"Thank you." he whispered as he closed his eyes.

A/N

I'm going to be honest, this one didn't come out as well as I would've liked. I don't think it's horrible but I could've done better.  
But short of scraping and re-writing the whole chapter, which I did not feel like doing this time around, I don't think I could've made it much better.  
But hey, seeing our own mistakes is how we grow right?

Anyway, expect to see a bit more of Sable through flashbacks like this one. Who knows, maybe I'll even throw the Chairman into one of them. I feel like he's kind of underused right now, but it is a bit justified since he'll be coming back into the spotlight again in the future. And once he comes back, he'll be there to stay.

Edit: As of 4/16/18 Sable's birth name has been changed to better reflect her character inspiration. Though it may seem a sudden change as well as a useless one as she uses Sable permanently and is dead anyway, her original name never sat right with me. And I've been working on trying to come up with a better one on the side for a while now. Thanks to a bit of help her birth name now properly reflect her inspiration from Roland, one of the 12 Paladins of Charlemagne.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it.


	32. Chapter 32: Teacher and Student

Sera couldn't help but smile as stepped into Haven that morning. Marek was finally back after eight years, and Kobalt had started staying at home again after the night of his mission. She finally had her family back together in one place, though it had been a little more awkward for Nickole with Marek back. Though she had assured Sera that it was no big deal, just strange since she had seen Marek at his worst, and he knew that. Sera had been glad she didn't have to see her husband so unwound as when Kobalt first spoke with him, just hearing about it was saddening. And of course Kobalt was still more than a little distant with his father, a fact that she wasn't surprised about but still left her worried. For now though she had to move past thinking like that, Marek was back to normal and she could finally breathe easily in life. She must've seemed worlds different to her students as she walked into the school's arena that morning. Few of them were hiding their surprise that the Ghost of Haven had such a bright look on her face.

"Well don't just stand there," she said as she pulled out her scroll "Most of you participating in the tournament still need much more training."

She activated the academy's sparring randomizer and gave her students something else to think about as matches started up. It was nice to go back to work with a smile on her face, Sera had forgotten just how different of a teacher she really was when she was in a good mood. She started correcting students on the things they were doing wrong in duels, poor stances, footwork, things their basic combat school teachers should've fixed long ago. Of course there were plenty of students here who had never undergone proper training, Sera had to remind herself. Some had lived outside the kingdom for most of their lives, others had a natural talent, either way she was intent on refining them into gifted Huntsmen. Shortly after the first few duels, Sera looked up to see her son in the stands watching. As much as she wanted to believe he was only watching her, she knew he was analyzing her students. She could see the way his eyes were following each battles, as if memorizing every little detail. It was the same way Sera had learned she had the potential to become a teacher and fix many of the flaws she observed during training. But she didn't need her gut to tell her Kobalt wasn't interested in teaching. After an hour or so of matches she finally got to the student she was most looking forward to, Furi. Unfortunately the randomizer had him up against Asche, who in no way stood a chance against him.

"Professor nothing against Asche," Furi said "But that just isn't fair, he's not going to get any better if he keeps going against me."

"Ordinarily I'd tell you to try and help him get better," Sera sighed pulling out her scroll again "But I'm afraid you're right, you're no teacher. Let's see if there's anyone who can help **you** improve."

"Actually I had someone in mind already." Furi stood up and pointed across the arena towards her son.

"Kobalt? Are you sure Furi?" Sera asked hiding the worry in her voice. Her son had told her about the mission he had been on a few days ago, and it was clearly still somewhat affecting him.

"You said if I ever needed a decent sparring partner to let you know." Furi said turning to Kobalt "You up for it?"

"Alright let's do this." Kobalt grinned as he stood up from his seat "I've been hoping for a chance to blow off some steam."

 _Oh dear_ , Sera realized as Kobalt walked into the arena. _This could get messy._

The two of them drew their blades as Sera started the timer, the match had barely started when Furi dashed forward streaming plasma across his blade as he slashed at Kobalt. She never ceased to be amazed by his raw speed, it was incredible. But somehow, Kobalt sidestepped the attack with barely any movement at all. Kobalt pushed Furi away with quick palm strike to his chest, and followed up with his own dash streaming flames as he knocked Furi around. In an instant it seemed the tables had been turned on Furi. Never before had someone managed to match him in speed without a semblance for it, and even then they didn't match him in power. And now Sera was seeing that Kobalt had full gained access to his semblance since she had begun training him ages ago, even then it was clear that when used properly Kobalt had heightened senses and strength. But now all these years later she was seeing what he could do with no limits on his power. It was amazing, seconds into their fight and her son was already matching her best student.

Of course Furi had never been one to give up so easily, or to underestimate an opponent. Perhaps he merely hadn't expected Kobalt to be as close to his level as he was, or maybe he was just caught off guard for a moment. Regardless, Furi rapidly corrected himself and dodged Kobalt's attack and locked blades with him. Furi had been against opponents bellow him for so long Sera was starting to worry about how he might fair in this fight. Of course it was that moment that he pivoted and struck Kobalt in the side with his sword. He rushed back in hoping to catch Kobalt reeling from the attack, but was met with Kobalt's sword flashing from his other side meeting Furi's blade everywhere it went. Eventually the two backed away from each other for a chance to breathe.

"You know, I don't know why I expected any less." Furi smiled "You're the guy who took on the Headmaster."

"How many times do I have to tell people that wasn't a real fight?" Kobalt sighed "I have to admit though, you're pretty good yourself."

"Thanks, so how long you gonna hold back on me?" Furi laughed

"What can I say, I don't like to dive right in." Kobalt said drawing his pistol "I like to test the water first."

Kobalt clicked the safety off and fired his pistol, Furi effortlessly blocked the bullets with his sword. But he was caught off guard when Kobalt rushed in just as the last bullet hit and delivered a powerful thrust straight to Furi's chest. He was knocked back into the wall hard enough to leave a small indent on it, but before the dust could clear a slice of plasma flew out of it towards Kobalt. Furi had been charging plasma in his sheath this whole time, it seemed now he had chosen to use it. Kobalt tried to block the attack with his sword, but it quickly overpowered him and knocked his blade away. Furi emerged from the dust, dashing at full speed towards Kobalt with his sword in his sheath. In a single motion he unsheathed the blade and sliced at Kobalt, plasma and green lightning trailing from the blade to the sheath. He almost connected the blade to Kobalt too, but before it could hit a shield of blue energy formed in front of him shielding Kobalt from the attack. For the briefest of moments Kobalt was forced on the defensive, the plasma Furi was using was extremely volatile and difficult to defend against. But the second the energy wore off, Kobalt was back on the attack, he sliced at Furi who was now shifting into his own defensive stance. With every attack his power grew and the force of his attacks was leaving Furi even more stunned. He sliced across Furi's chest and fired his pistol point blank, Furi barely had time to get his sword up to block the shot before Kobalt was back to using his sword again. He swung his blade, fired his pistol, punched, kicked and sent out waves of energy long enough to make Sera wonder how long he could keep this up. Furi barely managed to keep him at bay, and the occasional attack slipped past him, but seemingly out of nowhere he slashed out with his sword as if Kobalt hadn't even been attacking. This time it was Furi launching a wave of attacks faster than he had before. Kobalt was keeping up, but just enough to block each attack not counter. Sera was starting to have a hard time following the fight from where she was standing, but even she could see the opening Furi left as he tried to stab at Kobalt. Kobalt knocked Furi's blade away and seemingly burst into flames, he slashed three times at Furi's exposed back and kicked him across the arena.

Sera looked up at the screen showing their Aura levels, they were almost even with Kobalt a bit lower having used his semblance so extensively. The flames that were licking his body were no doubt putting him into overdrive, and had drained his Aura significantly. It was amazing to see Kobalt had come this far with control over his semblance since he was a boy. He had tried to reach this effect once only to fail horribly.

"You know this is the most fun I've had in a while." Kobalt admitted and Furi pushed himself to his feet. "You ready for another go, or do you still feel like holding back?"

"Why don't we find out?" Furi chuckled sheathing his blade. He lowered his stance to one Sera recognized from the boy's father, and she felt the air in the room grow heavy. She had a very bad feeling about this. Furi started channeling massive amounts of plasma throughout his entire body, no doubt he was hoping to reach a similar effect as Kobalt had. But Sera knew he had never tried anything like it before, and was greatly worried about her student. But as she was about to warn him to stop, his plasma nearly solidified causing him to glow and crackle with its energy. It was incredible, despite being his first time attempting it Furi had successfully entered his own version of Kobalt's overdrive state.

In a flash of light Furi disappeared, reappearing next to Kobalt and lashing out at his head. Kobalt's face didn't hide his surprise as he bent back to avoid the attack. Before Kobalt could retaliate, Furi became a whirlwind of attacks, his blade barely visible as he slashed. The only thing Sera could see as he struck was the bright blue light that appeared every time he hit Kobalt. But it was strange, the light appeared and faded as quickly as the attacks came and went. And his Aura wouldn't be visible naturally unless…then it hit her, Kobalt was condensing his Aura at each point of impact, minimizing the damage. As Furi went to deliver one last arc Kobalt's blade came up to block it, and the flames coating his body burned brighter than before. In a single swift motion he pushed Furi back and thrust his sword into his chest, rather than continue his attack however Kobalt leapt back. The two now stood at the far ends of the arena, a large gap between them. Looking up Sera saw that both their Auras were still neck and neck, while Kobalt might've used large amounts of energy he had done some serious damage to Furi in return.

"Not bad," Kobalt grinned "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"Just using my semblance same as you." Furi told him as he sheathed his blade. "You're not the only person to have an energy based semblance you know."

"It's more than basic stuff you're throwin down right now." Kobalt smirked settling into a new stance, pointing his sword behind him at waist level with both hands on the grip.

He must've sensed the same thing Sera had, the massive energy Furi began building up in his sheath. All the plasma he had pumped through himself was moving to the blade, and as the glow dimmed around Furi the sheathed began to radiate. Kobalt answered Furi with his own version of the technique, and bright blue flames burst across his sword burning so hot it looked like the thrust of a jet engine. Simultaneously they dashed towards one another, Furi unsheathing his katana as he closed the gap. In theory Kobalt should've held the advantage having had his sword out already, but Furi's speed negated theory at this point and the two clashed through one another each landing a solid hit. One last time Sera checked their Aura levels, and still they were dead even just above the red zone. Kobalt sheathed his own sword and turned back around to Furi, who was breathing heavily. He dropped his blade and the glow around him died out, he nearly collapsed but Kobalt managed to rush over and grab his arm before he did. As he bent down to grab his katana Sera spotted the trace of green in his hair the proved he had poured too much energy into his body.

"First time really drains you, trust me you're gonna sleep well for the next few days." Kobalt said, keeping Furi steady. "Next time use less energy too, otherwise you'll literally burn yourself out."

"Noted." Furi gasped for air, as Kobalt let go of him he almost instantly collapsed again.

"He might need a medic." Kobalt called out to his mother as he kept Furi on his feet. "He's looking worse than I thought."

Sera promptly called for the school's medical team and rushed down into the arena herself. Furi was pale and burning a fever, his body hadn't even been close to ready for that state. She barely even knew what to do as the medical team arrived, when this happened to Kobalt he barely had much Aura to call on. But Furi was older than Kobalt had been and not limited by his Aura.

"He's having an adverse reaction to excessive energy flow." Kobalt told the medics as they entered the field "Get his body temperature down as fast as you can."

"How will that help?" the medics asked

"You want details?" Kobalt asked them "Or do you want to keep him out of the hospital?"

"Right sorry." The medics said rushing Furi out on a gurney.

"I went through something similar a couple of years ago." Kobalt told his mother, who was left shocked by how quickly he took charge of the whole situation. "I didn't get treated right away and wound up in the infirmary for a week."

"It was that bad?" Sera asked her son, concerned for both him and her student.

"No the docs took forever trying to figure out what to do." Kobalt sighed "But once they had I was better than ever."

"So Furi—"

"Will be coming back stronger than before," Kobalt added "Assuming he can control his energy flow better."

"It was so much different when I was training you all those years ago." Sera added

"Yeah, I remember." Kobalt said reaching up and brushing the strand of blue in his hair. "Of course I also remember spending a week in bed after. It was probably a weaker version of what happened to me later."

"How different was it?" She asked

"Nearly wound up with a full head of blue hair." Kobalt chuckled "Good thing I didn't, one little bit is plenty."

Other than minor fatigue, the doctor at Haven's infirmary hadn't found anything wrong with Furi after an extensive examination. Though his Aura was returning slower than normal, so he relegated Furi to simple exercises over the next few days until it was back to normal. Of course normal wasn't happening again anytime soon. Even though not many people had watched their match, it was already the talk of the school. And despite Kobalt's apparent insistence that the match was ended at a draw due to Furi's reaction to going into overdrive, he knew people were wondering if the school's top first year had fallen. After a couple more days Furi felt his Aura was back to normal, relatively speaking at least, something about the attempted overdrive had no doubt changed it permanently. But once it did he immediately rushed to Professor Ward's office, there was something he needed to ask her.

"Come in Furi." Prof. Ward called the second Furi approached her door, he hadn't even had the time to knock. Inside her office she was sitting at her desk looking over reports that she was probably about to pass on to the Headmaster.

"Your Aura seems to be doing better. Just give me a moment alright." She said not looking up from the reports, she was certainly more busy than usual. She finished writing something on her computer and slid the holographic monitors out of the way. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I was hoping for your help with something." Furi said taking a seat.

"Should I pretend to be surprised?" she smiled "You're too polite to bother a professor for anything less than actual needs. So, what exactly did you have in mind?"

"I was hoping you could teach me how to control my semblance properly, if I could I wouldn't have wound up spending the better part of the morning asleep." Furi admitted

"I was afraid you were going to ask for something like that." Prof. Ward sighed

"In a few of our sessions you mentioned you helped your son with similar issues to the ones I was having." Furi reminded her "And I can tell you trained him how to go into that enhanced state. Would you help me learn how to?"

"Furi I'm sorry I can't. Kobalt was a, special case." She said pursing her lips "I was only able to help him because of the way his semblance relates to his Aura."

"How does that make a difference?" Furi asked

"As you're well aware I'm able to sense a person's Aura, its strength and capabilities." She reminded him "Kobalt's semblance manipulates the raw energy of his Aura, so I had an easy time gauging how much power he was using. But he never had the skill he does now when I was training him, he learned how to go into overdrive on his own."

"So it's not like a variation of my semblance." Furi realized

"No, and unlike him I have no way of measuring your power usage." She sighed "I'm sorry Furi, I wish I could help you. But this one is beyond me, if I tried to help I wouldn't be able to tell how much energy is too much."

"No I understand." Furi added standing up

"Perhaps if you knew someone else with an energy based semblance," Prof. Ward suggested "Then they could help you."

"I'm afraid that I don't." Furi said

"Yes you do," Seraphina said "I know you don't get along with him but—"

"No." Furi cut her off

"You forget you're not the only one with a Huntsman as a father." She reminded him "I'd bet he took that teaching job so that he wouldn't be as big a problem for you."

"It didn't work, I had to come to school here to get away from his reputation." Furi said, his voice raising a little.

"And if Kobalt had trained here he likely would've gone to Beacon to get away from **his** father's reputation." She added "Many Huntsmen are famous Furi, some have a family name that stretches back generations, others have done things extraordinary. Marek and your father are a little of both."

"If that's all professor I'll be going now." Furi said getting up and walking for the door.  
"I'll think about what you said."

He wasn't entirely lying, there was no way he was going to his father on this. But perhaps he might be able to find another energy semblance wielder. He racked his brain trying to think of the semblances of his fellow students. There was a fire wielder, but he wasn't the smartest person Furi had ever met, besides that wasn't raw energy like Furi's plasma. Then there was Sol, he gained strength from solar energy being directed at him. No, he didn't control it himself. Furi wasn't sure how long he walked the halls until he finally came to the realization that there was probably only one person who could help him. He worked his way to the guest students' dorm and found the one assigned to KNGT. When he knocked he was lucky enough that Kobalt himself answered.

"Furi?" Kobalt asked "I didn't expect to see you here, what's up?"

"I was hoping to get your help on something." Furi told him

"If it's the hair, I say keep it." Kobalt chuckled "Some girls like the small touch of color."

"He's not wrong." Nickole laughed inside their room.

"It's not about the match is it?" Kobalt asked "Cause I've been telling people that match didn't really—"

"It's not about the match." Furi insisted "After the whole burning out thing I was hoping you could help me keep from doing that again."

"You just need to use less energy until your body gets used to it." Kobalt said simply.

"That's part of the problem I'm having, I can barely control my plasma." Furi admitted "Usually I contain it to my sheath. Is there any way you can help me?"

"I don't know, my memories are pretty hazy, I don't remember how I learned to control it the way I do." Kobalt sighed as he stepped outside and closed the door "It's like talking and breathing for me at this point, I just think about it and it happens."

"Anything you could teach me is better than what I've got so far." Furi told him

"Alright I'll see what I can do." Kobalt added, motioning for Furi to walk with him.

A short walk later the two of them were standing in the arena, this late no one would be here, they had the whole place to themselves.

"Okay energy control, let's see." Kobalt said closing his eyes. "We'll start with something simple, create a circle."

"A circle?" Furi asked

"Yeah, well a ring specifically." Kobalt told him as he swept his hands through the air, creating a ring of blue energy in front of him. But it was different from the flames Furi was used to, instead it was solid blue light. "It'll be harder than it sounds, and different for you. If I put in too much the light will turn into fire, not enough and it fades away. I'm not sure what yours will look like."

"No point in not trying." Furi breathed as he sat down began channeling energy into his hands and tried to form a circle like Kobalt's. He had barely sealed the circle before it already began failing, the energy was pulsing across the ring. As soon as he finished the circle he cut back on the amount of energy he put into it only for it to begin fading. He tried to put back in half the energy he took out but it began to waver again.

"Question, what am I doing wrong?" Furi strained to ask trying to keep the circle up.

"It's your own perception of how much you're putting in." Kobalt told him "What feels like a little is more than you'd think."

"Tips?" Furi breathed, still struggling to keep the circle together.

"Take a deep breath, and relax." Kobalt told him "Cliché as it is, it works. Calm your mind and focus, control will come easier that way."

Furi took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on the feel of the energy in front of him. Slowly he began drawing energy out of it, bit by bit the fluctuations in the circle died down. Once it was gone Furi stopped taking energy out, and opened his eyes to see a solid circle of plasma in front him.

"Good, now comes the tricky part." Kobalt added "Can you feel how the flow is steady?"

"Yeah." Furi said astounded, he had never done anything this controlled before.

"Alright the trick to control is balancing the amount of energy and its flow." Kobalt instructed "Right now, this what the balance should be like. Which means it's time for the next step."

"Which is?"

"Now you know how it should feel, so add more while keeping the flow stable." Kobalt told him

"Yeah, that'll be easy." Furi retorted

"I never said it would be." Kobalt continued "But all you've done until now is control how much energy you put out, if you can get the hang of this then you'll take a huge jump in strength."

"Right." Furi said, determined by his newfound control to push himself even further. He pictured the flow of energy like a current of water, and increased the amount of plasma he had running through it. As he added more he felt the current pick up, and he eased up to shift part of his focus on maintaining the flow. All the while he never stopped adding more plasma to the ring, instead he split his focus between adding more and controlling the flow of energy. He lost track of how long he stood there balancing the plasma, but after a time a bright light forced his eyes open. He stopped channeling energy as he looked in awe at the incredibly bright green circle of plasma in front of him.

"There you go, that's perfect!" Kobalt exclaimed

"It's amazing." Furi breathed

"Okay so that's step one done, now onto step two." Said Kobalt, turning serious.

"That was just step one?" Furi asked letting the ring dissipate.

"Yup, you've got two dimensional control down, now we move onto to three dimensions." Kobalt instructed "Make a sphere, and do the same thing all over again."

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to be ten times harder?" Furi sighed

"Hey man you came to me for help."

….

….

After a few more hours Furi's control over his plasma was better than he could ever have imagined. With Kobalt's help he no longer needed to contain his plasma in his sheath, though it certainly would save him time in the future. By the end of the session he was exhausted, but overflowing with confidence in his new strength.

"You've got all the basics down, my jobs done already." Kobalt laughed pulling Furi to his feet.

"I'd beg to differ." Furi told him "I still have a lot to learn."

"And I can't help with the rest all that much, you know how to control it so now you need to experiment with your power." Kobalt said "Figure out the tricks and limits to it yourself, our semblances might be similar but they are still different."

"And that 'overdrive' state?" Furi asked

"You got there without good control, all you need to do now is use less energy until your body gets used to it." Kobalt told him "And make sure the flow is even throughout your body."

"It's that simple?"

"No, it's going to feel a lot harder. Probably going to be a while before you get used to it." Kobalt added as he headed for the exit "But you've got everything you need to figure it out."

"Alright then, and hey. Thanks." Furi said as they parted ways outside the arena.

"Anytime man." Kobalt said as he walked away.

A/N

What's this? A chapter without the perspective of the main four characters? What can I say I wanted to add a little more Furi into the mix, and start the mini teacher student relationship he'll be gaining with Kobalt.  
By the way, his name is pronounced Fury. Just a little FYI, not like it really matters. And his name translates into Free Green.

Honestly I'm not big on how the second half of this chapter came out. When the Kobalt started teaching he felt a little too knowledgeable to me. But I'm not sure how to fix that and keep the little training session, anyone have any tips? I drew a huge blank on it.

And for those of you looking forward to it, the tournament will be starting next chapter. I've got some of my favorite fight scenes written up for this and I'm putting the polishing touches on them now. First round isn't going to be anything special I'm afraid.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it.


	33. Chapter 33: Ignited

"So tell me, Kobalt. What do you think of your new name?" the Chairman asked as he sat down in the chair in his office.

"A name is a name, I really don't see the big deal behind giving me a new one." He answered, preferring to stand then to sit.

"Ah but that's where you're wrong. Names are far more than just things to call people, your name is part of who you are." The Chairman said leaning forward "Names are part of how we see ourselves, they are all we leave behind when we are gone."

"I already have a name you know." He argued "Gallin Ward."

"Yes, well I'm sure you are also familiar with your family history. The tragic fact of the Wards is that they name their children for their ancestors. Forcing you to live up to their legacy." The Chairman quipped "Gallin is not your own name, it is shared with dozens across the long history of the Wards. But Kobalt, Kobalt is your own name it belongs to no one else. And you can make of it what you will."

"I mean come on, first round?" Tristan asked as they walked through the halls of Amity Colosseum. Seeing it again after all these years was certainly bringing back some good memories for Kobalt. Tristan on the other hand wouldn't stop complaining.

"You're the one that didn't want to be the last team to do anything anymore." Nickole argued

"Yea but going from the last team to go on patrol to the opening team for the Vytal Tournament was not what I had in mind." Tristan continued

"It's not that big of a deal." Justin said

"Yes it is." Kobalt grinned as they stepped into the arena. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this."

"Well you certainly seemed excited." Nickole smiled "Let's kick some ass. Hey where's your helmet?"

"Hm, oh I didn't want the cameras to miss seeing my face, so I put a small screen here." Kobalt said holding up his arm showing a scroll extension added on his left gauntlet. "Now come on, let's do this!"

Standing in the center of the arena, Kobalt could feel the energy of the crowd. Already people were restless and waiting for the tournament to get underway. Seeing the two teams walk in the arena had no doubt started getting people revved up.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Please allow me to welcome you to the 38th Vytal Festival Tournament!" A man's voice boomed through the colosseum's speakers "I'm Professor Jonathan Sorrel of Haven, and joining me in the booth is the lovely Professor Alexis Viridian of Beacon. And we have the honor of being your announcers for this most prestigious of events!"

"Didn't think they'd pick her for an announcer." Tristan whispered to Kobalt as they waited for the match to begin.

"I'm sure the rest of you are as anxious as I am to get down to business!" Viridian shouted into the mic "So without further delay, let's get the first match started!"

"Indeed this is already shaping up to be an incredible bought, I'm mean would you just look at these two teams we have lined up for you today!" Sorrel exclaimed "Let them hear it folks!"

The crowd erupted in an explosion of cheers and applause, all the energy that had been building up the last few minutes poured out in mere moments. The noise was almost deafening down in the arena, even without looking Kobalt could tell there were thousands of people watching in the stands.

"For our first match we have Team CEDR of Haven." Sorrel announced, inciting the crowd to erupt again.

"And Beacon's very own Team KNGT!" Viridian shoutcast at the top of her lungs. This time when the crowd cheered Kobalt could tell which side all the Beacon fans were sitting on, to think so many people were cheering his team on was incredible.

"Let's get this match underway!" Sorrel shouted as the biomes started randomizing. When they finished rolling, the side behind Kobalt and his team rose to be a ruined urban environment, while the other side wound up being a dense forest. Kobalt took the time before the match started to look over the other team, two girls and two guys, he couldn't tell what kind of weapons they had but they sure looked confident.

"Alright team, Attack Pattern Beta." Kobalt said as the match began.

"Umm what?" Nickole raised an eyebrow

"Didn't you read the list of attacks I sent you all?" Kobalt asked

"Yeah but there was no attack pattern—" Nickole started

"I changed the names remember?" Tristan spoke up "Blinding Bolt."

"Got it." Nickole sighed

"Disperse." Kobalt ordered. His teammates took off in every other direction, leaving him standing alone in the center of the arena, and right in front of the enemy team. Within a few seconds his friends would be hidden in the biomes waiting for an opportunity to launch the attack.

"Well come on!" Kobalt baited "You're not just going to take it easy on me because my mom's your professor are you?!"

"Okay, but you're asking for it." one of the boys grinned as he drew a large club off his back. He was about to charge at Kobalt when one of the girls grabbed his arm.

"Are you stupid?" she asked him "It's obviously a trap."

 _Actually the trap is right on top of you._ Kobalt thought with a grin.

Not a second later Nickole burst from the building to their left and rolled into the center of their group, placing a bright yellow rune on the ground as she did.

"Justin!" she shouted jumping off the ground, her hand raised and her eyes closed. Instantly Justin fired his spear and flew across the arena, grabbing Nickole and pulling her away in less than a second. Before team CEDR could even figure out what was going on, Nickole's rune exploded in a flash of light, blinding anyone close enough to it. Kobalt rushed in drawing Arondight, while the other team was still disoriented he hacked away at the opening before they could even realize they were being attacked. Their Aura levels dropped rapidly and he leapt backwards and landed in the urban biome.

"Ahh, that's it!" the same guy as before said rubbing out his eye. "I'm going knock him out of here!"

Without another word to his team he charged at Kobalt, his club raised high above his head. As he crossed into the biome and ahead of his team, who were now following him, Kobalt sliced his sword through the air, sending a small wave of energy towards the ruined building ahead of him. It was already leaning over as it was, but the slice along its foundation brought it crumbling down cutting Kobalt and the guy who planned on attacking him off from everyone else.

"Hah, you missed." The guy shouted

"You cannot be that dense." Kobalt laughed pointing behind him, the guys jaw dropped as he noticed he was cut off from his team. Then he turned back to Kobalt with a stupid grin on his face.

"What you scared of taking us all on at once?" he asked

"Not exactly, what's your name?"

"Rust."

"Well Rust, I figured this was a bit more fair for the rest of your team." Kobalt said raising his sword "It'll be easier for them to take on the rest of my team then for all of you to take me on at once."

"You think so huh?" Rust asked as he swung his club, aiming for Kobalt's head. Kobalt easily ducked under it and attacked right back. He was so preoccupied attacking he almost forgot to watch out for counter attacks, almost. He jumped back as a swing came from his left side aimed at his chest. He was about to go back on the offensive when Rust let go of his club. The sound of a cannon shot rang out and the next thing Kobalt knew the club had planted itself firmly in his gut. With the wind knocked out of him and the force of the attack sending him back more than a few feet Kobalt cursed himself for being so sloppy. Rust picked his club back up and fired it towards the ruined building, blasting it open and clearing a path to his team. From where he was kneeling Kobalt could see Nickole and the rest of his team had the other on the ropes, but one extra person could ruin the whole plan.

"Attack pattern Delta now!" Kobalt shouted as he rose and started sprinting at full speed to his team.

"Umm what?" Nickole asked, confused as Rust came back into the fray.

"For the love of," Kobalt groaned as he brought up his scroll "Shattered Flames!"

"Got it." Tristan and Justin nodded as they leapt back and away from the fight leaving Nickole alone with all of team CEDR. While Kobalt was still out of range Nickole slammed her foot to the ground and a large blue rune circled her, the other team, and a large portion of the ground around them. Before any of them could question what was going on, the rune erupted, shattered the ground beneath them as though an earthquake had ripped through the arena. Kobalt leapt in charging energy in his arms as he flew through the air. As he landed next to Nickole he pressed his hands to the ground and unleashed all of the energy at once, coating the already ruined ground in large blue flames. When he saw the other team's Aura drop into the red he withdrew the flames and stood up in the center of the destruction with Nickole.

"Did we just…" Nickole started

"I think we just did." Kobalt smiled as he looked up to the announcer booth. "You gonna close your jaws and call it or what!?"

"Well, that happened." Sorrel whispered, the mic barely picking it up.

"Ladies and gentlemen the winners of the first round of the Vytal Tournament, Team KNGT!" Viridian shouted, the excitement in her voice clear. The crowded roared as the match was called and Kobalt couldn't help but grin, he had waited years to hear this sound.

"Still upset we got the first match Tristan?" Kobalt laughed as they walked out of the arena.

"I guess I can't complain now, we just won like it was nothing." Tristan smiled

"It was quite the display indeed." A voice said around the corner. Emerging from behind it was Eisen, the Atlas Huntsman who was with the on their mission a few weeks ago.

"If half the other teams are as skilled as you are then this should be a Tournament for the books." Eisen complimented them. "If I may Kobalt, I'd like a word."

"Why does everyone always want to talk alone?" Kobalt sighed "I'll meet you guys at the fairgrounds.

"Don't take too long." Nickole smiled as she led the guys along.

"So let me guess, Black Knight info you want me to verify?" Kobalt figured

"Not exactly." Eisen smiled "Most of what Midori was able to pull out of their database we can authenticate with little risk to our scouts. No today I'm here for a more personal reason."

He reached into the lining of his coat and Kobalt instinctively reached for his pistol. Instead of a weapon though, Eisen pulled out a small picture.

"I'm sure you think no one else understands what it is you've lost." Eisen said holding the picture out for Kobalt "But I'd like to think there are plenty of people who do, myself included."

Kobalt took the picture from the old Huntsman, it was one of Sable. She was dressed in her armor minus her helmet, with Durandal in her hand and the wind pushing her hair and cloak behind her.

"Where did you…" Kobalt started but found himself speechless as he held the photo.

"Among the data Midori was able to salvage was your friend's file, that picture was in there." Eisen explained as he walked away "I would offer you my sympathies but they would be worthless in the face of what you lost, that picture is the least I could do. You deserve something more than a blade to remember those close to you."

"Thank you, Eisen." Kobalt breathed as he pocketed the picture, his heart growing heavy again.

"Yes well I really should be going," Eisen coughed "Best of luck in the tournament."

"Hey you alright?" Nickole asked as Kobalt sat down next to them at one of the stalls in the fairgrounds. "He didn't want to talk about Black Knight did he?"

"No he uh, he wanted to give me this." Kobalt said taking out the picture of Sable and putting it on the counter.

"You must really miss her." Nickole said sliding her stool closer to his.

"You could say that yeah." Kobalt smiled picking the picture back up. "She was the closest thing I had to family for years."

"What was she like?" Tristan asked

"Well, I guess she was a lot like me," Kobalt chuckled "Minus the tendency to lose control and blast things apart. She wasn't afraid of anything, even if she was outmatched. If she even had the slightest chance at winning she'd take it."

"Sounds like you." Nickole smiled

"I couldn't do her justice if I kept trying to describe her to you." Kobalt sighed "It's too bad, I bet she'd have like you guys."

"Well, all of us but Tristan." Nickole joked "Any girl with good sense wouldn't."

"And yet somehow I find myself coming back over and over again." Amber sighed as she walked up to Tristan.

"Ehh I'm sure you've had plenty of chances to dump me so far." Tristan waved her off "If you haven't I must have some redeeming qualities."

"Did **_you_** just give **_me_** sass?" Amber asked "Maybe you're not such a lost cause after all. Kobalt have you been giving him advice?"

Kobalt stifled a laugh at that one, and Nickole actually gasped. Both of them looked over a Tristan to see his reaction. To his credit his face didn't reveal whatever he was feeling, his voice on the other hand…

"Too far." Tristan shook his head as his voice turned cold "Too far even for you."

"Oh come on I'll make it up it to you." Amber pleaded throwing her arms around him as he kept his back to her. "I'll pay for your team's lunch, and I'll owe you one for a change."

Kobalt noticed Tristan's ears prick up at those words which made him wonder just what Amber meant by that.

"Deal." Tristan said, a smile coming back to his face.

"Come on I know just the place." Amber said pulling Tristan along with her "No offense to noodle guy here but I've got something special in mind."

"Wait we already ordered." Nickole argued as Amber and Tristan moved off ahead of them. As if on cue the stall's owner brought out four bowls of noodles for them.

"Sorry about this sir," Kobalt sighed as he slid the owner more than enough lien to cover their meal. "Could you do me a favor and give 'em free of charge to the next group to come through here?"

The old man just nodded as he took Kobalt's money and put in in the register.

"Thanks, and happy Vytal Festival!" Kobalt shouted as he ran after the rest of his team.

"You know when Amber said gourmet burgers I was more than a little skeptical." Kobalt sighed as he all but fell down on a bench. "Now I wish I hadn't eaten so many of them."

"You and me both." Nickole added as she sat down with him and leaned on his shoulder.

"Where did those two disappear off to anyway?" Kobalt asked

"I'm not sure if I want to know." Nickole laughed

"Do you know Justin?" Kobalt asked, that was when he realized Justin wasn't with them either.

"I saw him go off watch the next round. He muttered something about scouting for us." Nickole laughed "It's just the two of us."

"Finally some privacy." Kobalt joked, there were still tons of people around the fairgrounds. Still it was nice to sit there with Nickole like a couple instead of being part of a team. Of course just as he was about to say that her scroll went off and she pulled it out of her pocket.

"It's my dad, he's here with my mom and brother." Nickole said "He wants to know where we are so he can congratulate us."

"Tell him he's not allowed to steal you away from me now." Kobalt yawned, surprisingly more tired than he thought he was.

"I'll tell him we need some rest before the next round tomorrow and we'll see them after that." She laughed "Speaking of which, I take it you wanna go back to the dorm room and take a nap?"

"It's like you're reading my mind." Kobalt smiled as he stood up and pulled Nickole with him back to the dorm room where he practically fell on his bed. Nickole had to remind him to take his armor off before he could sleep and then plopped down next to him. As far as relaxing things to do right now, Kobalt wasn't sure if there was anything better than this. Nickole had already dozed off and he was on the verge of falling asleep himself, but there was something about lying there with Nickole that made him forget about everything that had happened the past few weeks. The last few nights he had gone to bed worried about what he might see in his dreams, but with Nickole next to him he was confident nothing like that would happen this time.

"Kobalt, hey Kobalt." Someone hummed his name followed by a light nudge on his shoulder. He rubbed his eyes open to see Nickole standing over him.

"What time is it?" he yawned stretching his arms as he sat up in bed.

"About ten." Nickole told him looking at her scroll.

"Ten? That was a pretty good nap for only a few hours." Kobalt said cracking his neck, he was pretty stiff.

"No, ten AM we slept through the whole night." Nickole chuckled pointing to the window. Sure enough it was light outside. "It's a good thing the matches aren't until noon, I didn't think we'd sleep that late from a nap."

"Me neither, what do you wanna do in the meantime?" he asked as he walked over to the shower.

"How about something to drink?" Nickole suggested, "I saw this cute mini café at the fairgrounds yesterday."

"It's a date, just give me a few." Kobalt yawned as he stepped into the shower. He really should not still be groggy, he hadn't even been all that tired when he fell asleep yesterday. Maybe Nickole was rubbing off on him, she was always tired in the morning too.

"So where's this mini café?" Kobalt asked as he threw his armor on.

"Come on, I'll lead the way for a change." Nickole smiled grabbing his hand and leading him out the door. It was strange the second they walked out the dorm building they were almost flooded with friendly faces. Weirder still was the fact that no one was talking to them, just looking at them and nodding. UMBR, PINK, even some upperclassmen Kobalt recognized were doing it.

"I think it's like that sports superstition or something." Nickole guessed after they sat down at the café she had mentioned. It was a small little place taking up a bit more than the average stall with all the seating.

"What do you mean?" Kobalt asked, his knowledge of sports a bit behind even without amnesia.

"You know when a players on a hot streak you don't wish him luck or anything like that." Nickole said flagging down the waiter and ordering a coffee. "You just shut up and keep out of his way."

"What does that matter?" Kobalt asked ordering a cup of tea for himself.

"You never jinx a player when he has a shot at winning big." Nickole laughed "And right now I bet a lot of people think that's you."

"But there are other Beacon teams who've made it." Kobalt argued

"And none of them are you." Nickole smiled as their drinks came in "You're too modest sometimes you know that? It's like you don't want to admit how skilled you really are."

"Well I wouldn't have a clue about it if it weren't for you." Kobalt admitted "I'm not sure I'd be here today if it weren't for you."

"There you go saying things like that again." Nickole blushed, then she took a big breath. Even Kobalt could tell something was up.

"What?" Kobalt asked, it was clear she was holding something back.

"Sorry, it's just…" she paused "This all kinda crazy, we only just started dating a few months ago and we've done things most normal couples don't do together."

"Well were not exactly normal in the first place. Most people don't wake up in the morning for combat training" he countered

"Kobalt I was with there when we found out you were a child soldier in an organization that wants to rule the world." Nickole added, turning serious "I was there when you were reunited with your family. I was there when someone important to you died in your arms. That's difficult for me as your friend, but as your girlfriend? I don't know what to make of any of this."

"I know, watching Sable…" Kobalt started "That was more than tough, you shouldn't have had to see that."

"You cared about her, a lot." Nickole said "Maybe more than you care about me right now."

"Nickole—"

"You knew her for years, trained with her, fought with her. I'm not saying you don't care, you just had more time to get to know her." She sighed "You've only known me for a few months, how do either of us even know if—"

"You're worried I don't really like you, aren't you?" Kobalt asked, cutting her off before she could even get the words out. "You're right things have been crazy the past few months as it is. And maybe we did start off as some casual thing with neither of us giving it much thought. When we started, I never imagined what we'd find a few days later. It never even crossed my mind that things would take that hard of a turn."

"So you agree that—"

"But," Kobalt cut her off again "I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about you, Nickole you seem to be forgetting what I said when we started dating."

"You said that even with your amnesia you knew you liked me." Nickole blushed

"Well even with a lot of my memories back I still stand by that. And I'm glad you were there with me each of those times." Kobalt told her "Yes, I cared about Sable, maybe more than I can explain. But that was different, she was my family for years, almost like a little sister."

"And me?"

"Well I certainly don't think of you as my little sister." He laughed "Do you think I would've put up as big a fight with your dad if I did?"

"I'm not following." Nickole said raising an eyebrow

"If I had just walked out when you said we should, what would that have told you?" Kobalt asked "Well if it were me, it would've said I don't expect your family to be a problem."

"They aren't, they won't be." Nickole insisted

"Nickole I can tell how important family is to you. I could tell after listening to you talk to your brother for five minutes. You might say their approval doesn't matter, I think we both know that's not true." He added "Your father wasn't just testing my strength, he was testing my dedication. How much I'd go through to stay with you. If I didn't care about you, do you think I would've kept fighting him?"

"So you do? I'm worrying over nothing?" Nickole asked

"Want me to go another round with your dad?" Kobalt asked "I won't hold back this time around, I'll embarrass him if I have to."

"Well that's more than a bit of a relief." Nickole sighed leaning back in her chair "Can't you just say things like that sooner?"

"Tell you what, next time you start worrying about something like that, let me know and I'll say everything I just did plus some." Kobalt promised

"You got it Blue." Nickole smiled "Sorry, that was a hell of downer wasn't it?"

"As long as you're feeling better I don't care, cause that's all that matters." Kobalt smiled as he finished his tea and stood up "Come on, we should probably get going, who knows when they'll call us down."

"Knowing our luck it'll probably be us up first again." Nickole laughed

But it seemed their luck wasn't holding any longer, they didn't go first, or second for that matter. Six whole matches went by before it was finally their turn in the doubles round. They were against some guys from Shade, one of them was bigger than Justin with a hammer almost as large as he was. The other could not have been more different, he was small and scrawny, and had some kind of staff with a series of Dust chambers. The big guy had on dark brown armor where the other guy had a pale red cloak.

"Ladies and gentlemen it's time for today's final doubles round." Sorrel announced "We have Infra and Ochre of Shade VS Kobalt and Nickole of Beacon!"

"What are you thinking?" Kobalt whispered as the start of the match counted down "Divide and conquer or have me go in and distract them in a two vs one?"

"You take care of the big guy." Nickole suggested "If the little guy there is here with someone that big he's the key to this. Big guy there is going to try and keep us off him."

"Good call, I was starting to think something similar." Kobalt nodded. The biomes were rising now, a mountain and geysers rose up behind them while ocean and lava rose behind the other team. But something drew his attention to Nickole, she looked nervous. Maybe their conversation before still had her thinking.

"Hey," he said, nudging her shoulder "You okay?"

"Yeah sorry," Nickole smiled "Just can't help thinking my parents are out there somewhere."

"Mine too. I'm sure we'll make 'em proud." Kobalt told her "We got this."

"Damn right we do." Nickole agreed

Kobalt drew his blade just as the counter hit zero, but to his surprise the other team didn't even move.

"You ready Infra?" the big guy asked over his shoulder.

"Yes, if memory serves Kobalt is the real threat." The shorter guy answered pointing his staff at Kobalt. The next thing Kobalt knew his mind stung like it had be struck by lightning and he dropped to a knee in pain.

When he opened his eyes again he wasn't in Amity Colosseum anymore, he was back in the Ashen Tundra, back in the same crater he wiped the Dust Cloaks out in. The spear was back in his shoulder and the Dust Cloaks were circling him again. When he heard the sound of a blade being drawn behind him he moved instinctively thrusting his sword into the person standing behind him.

"K-Kobalt?" a voice asked as his blade pierced through. To his horror it wasn't a Dusk Cloak behind him, it was Nickole. Her armor was soaking red from where Arondight had been driven through and she collapsed in his arms.

"What's going on?" Kobalt gasped as she turned to dust when he tried to hold her. Another Dust Cloak came up from behind him with a sword in hand, Kobalt spun and sliced them apart. But as his head turned around the Dust Cloak turned into his mother. His sword was already cutting through her and her body turned to dust as it passed through her. Just as he was about to blast everything around him to bits the world changed and he was standing in front of a ruined Black Knight base. An explosion had just torn through it and he raced forward to try and get to the center. When he did he saw Sable fighting for her life amongst an almost infinite group of soldiers. On the far side of the room was the Chairman, his blood red eyes shining like a Grimm's. He slowly walked through the crowd of soldiers around Sable and drew a dagger. Kobalt tried to run faster, to save her, to kill him, but every step he took only seemed to send him further back. The Chairman looked up at him just as he reached Sable, and then he plunged the dagger into her side and twisted it.

"NOOOOOO!" Kobalt roared as he watched Sable fall to the ground in front of him, why was he seeing this? Why did he have to watch Sable die again? Why couldn't he save anyone?

As he fell to his knees in despair the world around him dissolved again. He was back at the hill from his dreams, his sword impaled into the stone circle in the ground. He looked up at the sun to see it covered by the shattered fragments of the moon. On its face was everything he had just seen, playing like a video stuck on loop.

"So you've made it back here." A voice rang out. Kobalt jumped to his feet and reached a hand up to draw his sword. Only to remember it was now impaled in the stone before him. Standing on the other side of his sword from him, was a mirror image of himself, but it moved on its own.

"I was wondering when you'd find your way here outside your dreams." It said as it stared at the face of the moon. Whoever this person was, it was like a whole other version of himself, no blue streak in his hair and black eyes with white irises. "I can feel our anger boiling over, it won't be long now."

"Who are you?" Kobalt shouted at this pale version of himself.

"I am the shadow that covers the world, dark is my soul." It spoke as it turned to him "Unfading, I am a Blade of Darkness. And now I am in control."

It stepped forward and pulled Arondight from the ground. Black flames swirled around him as he pulled the blade free.

"I will make them pay for making us see that." The dark Kobalt snarled as the light faded from the world. "I will break them in half."

A/N

Insert maniacal laugh here.  
And here I thought I'd stop piling shit on top of Kobalt. Nope, but I've been building this one up since Chapter 14. Maybe I'll consider going easy on him once I fully flesh this new aspect out. Maybe.  
I'll say this right now, the truth of this new plot point is something you might not expect. It's a mix of something real, and something not so real. That's all I'm gonna say, you'll find out more next chapter.

On a happier note, it may have been yesterday but happy Thanksgiving. And to anyone working on Black Friday, I wish you the best of luck.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it.


	34. Chapter 34: Inferno

Nickole had no idea what was going on. One second everything was fine, the next Kobalt dropped to his knee and grabbed his head in pain. She quickly stepped between him and the two members of the other team and rose her shield.

"Hurry and throw him out of the ring Ochre." Infra ordered "This one has seen some horrible things, I'd rather not traumatize him further."

"What did you do to him?" Nickole shouted across the arena.

"Infra there put him in an illusion." Ochre grinned "Makes my job easier."

"Ochre you idiot, don't reveal our plan to them." Infra shook his head "Too late now, yes I've trapped him in a nightmare realm for the duration of the match. I'm sorry but it's over."

 _Nightmares?_ Nickole thought, _oh no, Winds please get him out of there soon._

"Alright time to end this." Ochre grinned as he sprinted over to Nickole dragging his hammer along the ground. Shield or not she didn't like her chances at taking that hammer head on. She threw her runeguard on as his attack came in and it bounced off of her like a toy. As it faded she swept her sword across his chest while he stared at her slack jawed and put her impact rune underneath Infra. He was sent flying into the air but manage to steady himself with some kind of Dust he fired out of his staff. She was hoping distracting him would be enough to free Kobalt but he was still kneeling on the ground in pain.

"Come on Blue don't quit out on me that easily." Nickole muttered as she fell back to cover him. "You just got me to stop worrying about one thing, don't make something else for me to go crazy over."

"It's no use, he will be locked in that nightmare until I release him." Infra said as he glided back down to the ground. "It would be best if you gave up before—"

Infra's eyes went wide and Nickole felt the temperature in the arena spike behind her. She turned around to see Kobalt completely engulfed in black flames, a dark inferno rapidly rising around him. The heat was staggering, Nickole nearly stumbled backwards as it kept building up. She watched as the fire swirled around him and blocked her sight, when it finally subsided Kobalt was completely coated in a black Aura, the streak in his hair was burning with the same black fire as before and his eyes were dark and cold. This was bad, Nickole had seen him use black flames before, always in moments of anger. But she hadn't seen him do anything like that before, she couldn't begin to imagine what he had seen.

"Infra what's going on?" Ochre asked "How is he not still trapped?"

"He is, I can feel it." Infra shook his head "He shouldn't be moving right now."

"You," Kobalt pointed his sword at Infra, "You're the one that made me see that aren't you?"

"Ochre defensive formation now!" Infra shouted, Ochre rushed to his side and his huge hammer unfolded and turned into a wide shield.

"You're not getting past me." Ochre grinned from behind his shield.

"Kobalt are you—" Nickole started, but she never got the chance to finish, he dashed forward with enough speed to make her head spin. He blazed past Ochre and brought his blade down on Infra with so much speed his opponent barely had time to get his staff up to try and block.

"You're going to wish you hadn't messed with my head." Kobalt snarled as he kicked Infra to the other end of the lava biome.

"Infra!" Ochre called across the arena as his friend was sent flying. Infra managed to use his staff to keep himself from slamming on the ground and hovered just above it before stopping. Nickole saw him look around for Kobalt, her eyes hadn't lost him though. He was standing on one of the ridges in the biome, black fire burning across him while his very being emanated pure menace. Something was wrong, nothing about this was natural.

"Change of plans!" Infra shouted "You won't be able to stop this one without leaving yourself open, take her out first!"

"Roger that, watch yourself!" Ochre shouted as he transformed his shield back into a hammer. Nickole barely registered their conversation, she was staring wide eyed at Kobalt. What was going on with him, it was like he was a completely different person. She wasn't even watching as Ochre swung his hammer at her, she caught it out of the corner of her eye and tried to raise her shield. But she only partially blocked the attack and was sent flying into the edge of the mountain, leaving a large chunk of her Aura behind. She pushed herself to her feet as Ochre rushed her, she rolled under his attack and sliced at his legs. He took his hammer in both hands and tried to smash Nickole with the bottom of the shaft. She dodged the attack but as the bottom of the weapon hit the ground, his fist flew out of the dust it kicked up and smashed her in the chest.

 _Stop,_ she told herself _focus, somethings up with Kobalt you need to help him._

She just had to get through an enormous guy blocking her way. With his weapon in hammer form rather than shield his defense was practically non-existent. His only option was to counter any attacks she made, if she moved fast enough she could drop him and rush over to Kobalt.

She rushed back in, raising her shield as Ochre dropped his hammer on her. As it hit she threw an impact rune in her shield launching the weapon back at him. With his hammer up and away she hacked at him with her blade, dropping his Aura down slightly. He brought his hammer down onto her shield again and this time she held her ground.

"Not bad for a little girl." Ochre grinned as he pressed into her shield.

"Sorry I'm a little focused on the other fight." Nickole told him "Can't you tell something is wrong with my partner?"

"So?"

"So? He's about to tear you friend in half!" Nickole yelled

"Infra can handle himself." Ochre insisted

"Then why is his Aura dropping like a stone?" Nickole asked looking at the board behind Ochre.

"Trying to get me to look away?" Ochre laughed "Like I'm going to fall for that."

"Oh for the love of the Wind." Nickole huffed as she hopped away.

Just as she hit the ground she felt a presence leaning over her, she raised her sword only to have it be knocked away by Ochre's hand. How on Remnant had he moved so fast? His hammer was already on its way down, she didn't have time or Aura to raise her shield. She raised her arm and threw her runeguard on just her forearm. The limited size would increase the duration twofold, Ochre's hammer bounced off her arm and she launched a series of attacks with her bare fist. Safe from damage she pounded away at him with her fist placing small explosive runes every time she struck. She set their timers for when the runeguard would fade and put an impact rune on her hand launching him several feet away from him. Just as he was clear form her the runes detonated one after the other covering him in tiny explosions. She turned grabbed her sword, and raced for Kobalt, not even bothering to check how much of her Aura was left. He was still on fire and holding Infra by his collar, about to throw him across the arena. She opened her mouth to call his name when she felt something behind her. She turned her head to see Ochre just behind her, his hammer raised far above his head.

"Next time make sure I'm out for the count." He breathed as he swung.

Nickole didn't even have time to react. The hammer's head came down and caught her in the legs, a resounding crack filled the arena as a voiceless scream escaped her mouth. She fell forward and hit the ground hard scratching her face on a small rock. The whole world grew silent as she tried to push herself to her feet only to lose her grip on the ground. Instead she rolled over and felt her legs sear with pain, looking down she saw her legs bent beyond what they had any right to be.

"Oh Dust I'm so sorry I didn't mean—" Ochre started, but was soon interrupted by a roar so loud Nickole could feel it.

"Get away from her!" Kobalt shouted as he flew over and slammed Ochre out of the arena. Nickole looked up to see him standing over her, his previous black flames replaced with blue ones, his eyes back to normal and filled with concern.

"Nickole are you alright?" he asked leaning down and picking her up. "Somebody get down here!"

"Kobalt…"

"Just take it easy, you're going to be alright." Kobalt breathed, clearly trying to stay calm. It wasn't long before a pair of paramedics rushed on to the arena and laid Nickole onto a gurney. They injected her with something before rushing her out the arena, Kobalt running alongside them as they carried her away.

"This is taking way too long." Kobalt vented as he paced around the room. Kobalt never paced.

"I'm sure it's just taking them a while to develop." Nickole reasoned "They didn't seem too worried when they first took a look."

"It still shouldn't be taking this long." Kobalt said almost literally just as a doctor walked in.

"Good new Ms. Gareth, it seems it was a clean break." The doctor told them "Large mind you, but clean. I'll have someone in here in a few minutes to apply a cast, you'll be in it for a week or two assuming your Aura can heal the damage quickly."

"See I told you nothing to worry about." Nickole said as soon as the doctor left the room. "It's not even a major injury."

"If you weren't on meds right now you'd be screaming in pain." Kobalt sighed as he sat down on a stool next to her bed "Trust me, I'd know."

"Nickole?" Kobalt's mom asked poking her head in the room "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, what are you doing here?" Nickole asked

"It's uh, it's about Kobalt." She pursed her lips "There's something I found that you both need to hear."

"It can't wait?" Kobalt asked

"Kobalt, we all know something strange happened to you out there in the duel." Seraphina said "But I think I know what, I asked Leandros for your file. It was in the data recovered from the base you raided."

"What did you find?" Kobalt asked, his face turning paler than Nickole had ever seen it.

"I was looking for something about those black flames after I saw that fight, it's a psychologist's analysis of Kobalt." His mother said pulling out her scroll and handing it to them. "I don't think I can say it myself."

Nickole probably shouldn't have, but on instinct she began reading the file aloud.

"At the Chairman's request, Dr. Azul has performed an in depth analysis of Subject Kobalt. Though he was aware of the risks in bringing children into Black Knight, our leader believed the benefits to be worth the risk. Due to the trauma the Subject has endured, it is clear that the he has developed a dissociative personality to protect himself from the harsh truths of what he has been through. This is clear simply from reading his mission reports throughout the years and his behavior during them. However it seems the events of the past year have pushed this disorder even further." Nickole read, already terrified of what she had learned so far. "After the mission in Vacuo, the Subject's alternate personality seems to have grown. Furthermore it has become rare to actually observe, and has appeared only three times since the event Dr. Azul is calling its 'evolution'. Beginning with the failed Vacuo operation that ended in the Subject first taking a life, and only appearing in the other two times he has repeated this action since. Each time the Subject's notable blue Aura is reported to have become black, and his personality changes so drastically that he is unrecognizable. Soldiers report unparalleled brutality and lack of empathy."

"It makes sense, you've never been one to hurt people. Everything you ever did was to protect others, to be a hero." Seraphina said, visibly disturbed by the reading "But if at any point, you were forced to do something you never wanted to, something you strove to avoid, your heart would've broken in two."

"So to protect himself he created a different personality, one that didn't care about protecting people or anything. One that would kill if it had to." Nickole said nearly dropping the scroll "That's what we saw out there? But why there, what happened?"

"I was put into a nightmare, I saw myself kill you, my mom. I saw the chairman kill Sable." Kobalt said as his voice shook. He wasn't even looking at anyone, just staring at the ground. "And then, I was standing on a hill I saw in my dreams. And there was another me there, but darker, black eyes and hair, and there was so much anger pouring out him."

"When you lost your memory you must've buried your other personality in your subconscious, and only let it out when you felt you needed it." his mother added "And seeing what you did made you need to—"

"No, that's not it. It was like he had a mind of his own, like he took control away from me. Where I freaked out at what I saw, he was enraged by it. I could feel his hate." Kobalt shook his head, "He wanted to put a stop to it, to make whoever caused it suffer. And when he did, it felt like **I** wanted to do all that. It felt like it was me the whole time."

"That doesn't make any sense. How could an alternate personality take control away from you?" Nickole asked "And why would that change the color of your Aura?"

"It wouldn't." a voice in the doorway spoke. Nickole turned away from Kobalt to see his father now standing in the doorway, his face as pale as his son's.

"Dad?"

"Marek what are you doing here?" Sera asked "What's going on?"

"You know something don't you?" Nickole realized "Whatever you're hiding Kobalt's got enough questions about who he is already, he deserves an answer."

"It's more complicated than that, I'm not even sure where to begin." Marek sighed as he walked into the room "But I think I have an idea, back when I was training with my grandfather—"

"Dad what are you talking about?" Kobalt asked cutting his father off "What could this possibly have to do with what's going on?"

"Would you give me a moment to get to it?" Marek snapped, it was clear he was as shaken by all of this as Kobalt was. "I spent years training with my grandfather, usually he didn't intervene with my survival training. But a few months after I first started I was attacked by a Goliath."

"What did you do?" Nickole asked

"I didn't do anything, I stood there frozen like a statue. But before the Goliath could do anything my grandfather burst through the trees. He blasted it with this bright light before charging in with his mace." Marek told them "But the Goliath recovered faster than he anticipated, and smacked my grandfather across the chest with its tusk. He went flying into a tree, and for a second I thought we were both going to die. That was when…"

"When what?" Mrs. Ward prodded

"When I saw his Aura change. It flashed his normal white for a moment before it turned dark black as he pushed himself to his feet. Everything, even the air changed, it was like the light was bending around him." Marek went on a grim look on his face "And as he tore into the Goliath I saw it change half a dozen times. I didn't know whether to be amazed or horrified."

"And you asked him about it?" Nickole weighed in.

"Of course I did, he sat me down at a campfire that night to tell me. He started with this crazy fairy tale about a man who found that human's souls were both light and dark, and strove to find the balance between the two halves." Marek explained "Then he told me this man's name was Ward, the first Ward. And that ever since him some members of our family were able to access and control the dark half of their souls. I always thought he was just trying to scare me, that it was really just part of his semblance all along."

"So that's why his Aura changed? Because our son has darkness in his soul?!" Sera shouted "Are you trying to tell me he's some kind of monster?!"

"We all have darkness in us Sera, our son is just able to naturally use his." Marek added "He's not a monster. We are who we chose to be."

"I didn't choose to be this." Kobalt argued, and Nickole could hear the anger in his voice rise as he spoke. "And, I don't have control over any kind of darkness. Or any light for that matter."

"No, you must've subconsciously given control over it to your other self. You probably didn't even know you had control over it, and it just happened." Marek sighed "I'm sorry, if I had known my grandfather was telling the truth all these years I would've—"

"What! You would've stayed home?" Kobalt shouted as he stood up from his seat "Would that have been enough for you to finally act like a father instead of gallivanting around Remnant?"

"Kobalt I-" his father started

"No! I don't want to hear it, ever since you came back into my life everything's gone to hell!" Kobalt added "Get out, right now. Before I throw you out."

"Kobalt it's not his fault he—" his mother started

"Sera it's fine." Marek said, already backing up to the door. "Kobalt, I'm sorry. Maybe I have failed as a father, but you're the one who taught me it's never too late to come back."

He left without another word, but even that didn't seem to be enough to calm Kobalt down. He was still furious, fists clenched and his eyes practically burning with anger.

"Kobalt—" his mother started

"Mom please. Not. Now." Kobalt said through gritted teeth, even Nickole could tell how heavy this was all weighing on him. The second she walked out the door Kobalt turned around and slammed his fist into the metal molding of the window, denting it.

"Kobalt I know you're mad, but please calm down." Nickole pleaded "You're starting to scare me."

"I'm sorry, I'm trying it's just..." He took a deep breath as he sat back down next to her "This is nuts, I can't…what do I do?"

Kobalt slammed his head down onto the side of her bead, Nickole didn't hesitate to reach out to him. He needed something, even if it was as little as just having someone there.

"What the hell Nickole, what am I even supposed to make of all this?" he asked, his voice muffled by the bedding. "First Black Knight, then amnesia, and now all this? If there's a god he must hate me."

"Hey come on." she said pulling him up to her and wrapping her arms around his head. "Listen to me, if there is anyone I know who can get through this it's you. You're too tough to let this keep you down."

"I'll be sure to add this to the growing list of times you managed to make me feel better about my screwed up life." Kobalt sighed, embracing her in return "Damnit all, and we just got done dealing with our own drama. Now this?"

"Hey this isn't some girl who hates my family or my little freak out." Nickole reassured him "This is something we can deal with, together."

"So you don't think this is going to be a problem?" Kobalt asked pulling back

"No, not for us. We can figure it out, I know we can." She told him "We'll just take it one step at a time and see how it goes."

"I think out of all the people trying to help me deal with all this you're the only one to actually make a difference." Kobalt chuckled, it was good to hear him laugh again. To see his face light up when he did. It made what Nickole was about to say that much harder.

"I'm glad that's the case, but there are other people who keep trying." Nickole said "I know you don't want to hear this, but this isn't your dad's fault. You do realize that right?"

"Maybe not, but I'm not wrong either." Kobalt added darkly "Ever since he came back everything has gone south. First Sable and now—"

"No, you cannot blame him for that." Nickole cut him off "He had nothing to do with that, he even went out of his way to make sure you were safe on that mission."

Kobalt stayed silent after that, almost like he was holding back from saying anything at all.

"Kobalt you know I've avoided talking about your father because I agree with you that he screwed up. And I didn't want to bother you by mentioning him." She told him "But after that, you can't blame him for trying to act like your father. And I can tell he is trying his damndest to make things up to you. So at least give him a chance."

"Yeah, yeah your right. All things considered he hasn't been doing a terrible job lately." Kobalt admitted "He just pisses me off by being there. It's tough to deal with you know?"

"I do, parents can be idiots." Nickole said sliding her hand in his "But family is always messy."

"Yeah well mine's kind of a special case." He smiled as their fingers laced together.

"You're going to be okay, I know it." she assured

"Yeah, like you said we'll come up with something." Kobalt said "But in the meantime I need to look after you, plus I have a tournament to win so there's that."

"Wait what?"

"Oh yeah, you would've been out for the announcement. But since I knocked both of those guy's Auras out we technically won the duel." He told her "And Ochre made a formal apology to you on air since I wouldn't let him in the room when you were still asleep. So that cleared the other me of going a bit too hard in there."

"He came to apologize?" Nickole asked

"Yeah, and he had a camera crew from the tournament behind him." Kobalt laughed "He apologized for letting them follow him before trying to apologize to you."

"What happened?" Nickole's eyes went wide as she saw the almost embarrassed look on her boyfriend's face.

"Well I told him he better leave before I made him, and when the reporters asked me for a statement I might've melted some or all of their gear." Kobalt admitted, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

"So this is you worrying about me for a change huh?" Nickole asked

"It's my turn to, deal with it."

"I guess it's not so bad, being on the other end of it for a change." She sighed

"Forgive me if I hope it lasts." Kobalt smiled

A/N

So this chapter wound up shorter than I had intended it to be. Of course it's also gone through several re-writes, even though not that many things have changed.  
The biggest change is the whole special powers bit. At first it was feeling way too much like a Chosen One kind of thing, and I hate stories that rely on Chosen One's or Prophecies.

That and I didn't want the powers to feel to incredible on their own, the best way for me describe it going forward is like having an extra Aura Kobalt can tap into. One that would slightly affect his semblance as it is and give him access to two other gifts, but with his mental disorder it's now a whole other thing entirely.

I also didn't want the powers to be locked down to Kobalt. Other than his time with Black Knight there is nothing special about Kobalt when it comes to the Wards. There are still plenty members of his father's family out there, some of them might just be able to access this power themselves even without knowing it. Or maybe not, maybe Kobalt will go around teaching other members of the family how to use their gift.

Frankly I can't wait to introduce more Wards delve more into the Ward's backstory. I've slowly been turning my notes on the family and it's more notable members into a bonus story that so far I'm calling the Ward Family Chronicles. The name might change somewhere down the line, but it's going to focus on three major members of the family throughout it's history. Two of which fought in the Great War, Fenrir and an as of yet named member. And Marek's grandfather, the previous Gallin Ward. I might even add in Marek's father, who fought in the Faunas War.

Oh and Ochre's semblance is something I think is kind of interesting. It's a kind of challenge where he picks an enemy and focuses solely on them. If they disengage like Nickole did twice, Ochre is able to deliver a massive attack to chunk them down. I came up with it solely for the purpose of breaking Nickole's legs, and I'm not apologizing. Something had to break Kobalt out of that 'trance'.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it.


	35. Chapter 35: A Breath of Air

Tristan had been around a lot of uncomfortable moments in his life, but standing around while Nickole tried to walk with a pair of crutches had to be the worst he'd known yet. He had arrived shortly after a nurse had put both her legs in a cast and was about to get a wheelchair for Nickole to use in the meantime. Nickole had rather explicitly told her no, and was insisting on using crutches instead. Tristan had a feeling why, he had seen her older brother a couple of times when they spent a month at her home. As much as he knew she must love her brother, she must've hated the thought of rolling around in a wheelchair for a week or two after seeing what it did to him. So after the nurses applied new casts to let some weight be put on them, Tristan just stood there awkwardly while Kobalt tried to help her get used to crutches instead. Kobalt, now that was a topic they needed to talk about. Something had happened to him in the arena, he seemed completely different for a moment. And even though he told them he had an explanation he refused to tell them until things calmed down. But Tristan couldn't help but wonder, it had taken Nickole getting her legs broken to snap him back to normal. And that was something even Tristan freaked out about, as much as the two of them didn't always get along he was worried about his friend. If it took that much to bring Kobalt back, what had been wrong in the first place?

"I think that's enough for now." Nickole gasped as she set the crutches aside and sat back on the bed. With a bit of help she was lying down on it again trying to catch her breath. "Anybody got some water?"

"I'm on it." Justin nodded as he left the room probably to find a vending machine or something.

"You alright you need anything for the pain?" Kobalt asked once Justin was gone.

"My mind is foggy enough already thank you." Nickole sighed "I don't like painkillers all that much."

"Yeah I guess I'm used to it after all these years." Kobalt added

"Speaking of which," Tristan coughed "You wanna maybe fill me in on what happened?"

"I told I will once things calm down a little." Kobalt said "I know you want to know but it's not exactly simple."

"This might be as calm as things get for a while." Tristan started "You still have to compete in the—"

"Nickole!" Faron Gareth shouted running into the room "Are you alright?"

"Dad? I'm fine it's okay." Nickole got out as quickly as she could.

"You know that won't calm him down." Her mother added following shortly behind, a young boy holding her hand. He couldn't have been more than six or seven years old and had bright blond hair, he must've been the younger brother Tristan had heard about.

"The doctor said it was a clean break I'll be fine, just out of commission for a while." Nickole told them

"But now you won't be able to compete in the finals." Her father added "Aren't you upset about that?"

"Actually we were going to have Kobalt in the finals." Nickole said pursing her lips.

"What?!" Faron asked in shock "What happened to brining honor to the Gareth name, to competing in the finals like your brother?"

"Dad Auburn lost" Nickole reminded him "And Kobalt stands the best chance at winning, I'd rather have Beacon win than me lose in the last few rounds."

"But you don't know if you'd lose for sure." He continued "You could've made it to the last round, you could've—"

"Dad would you just stop already." Nickole cut him off as she turned to the boy next to her mom "And you, are you going to give your big sister a hug or not?"

Tristan watched as the boy's face lit up at being noticed and he booked it for Nickole and jumped on her bed to give her a tight hug.

"It's been a while huh Lian?" Nickole smiled "You've gotten taller too, did you miss me?"

"Nope." The boy joked, Nickole flicked him on the forehead in an instant. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yea I'll be fine just stuck in a cast for a few weeks." Nickole laughed "It could've been a lot worse, but your big sister's tougher than she looks."

"I can attest to that." Kobalt chuckled

"I don't think you two have been introduced yet." Nickole realized "Lian, I'll give you three guesses as to who that is."

"I already know who he is," the boy laughed "He's Kobalt, the one you keep talking about."

"Bingo, Kobalt this is my baby brother Aurelian." She introduced "And that guy standing over in the corner is Tristan."

"The annoying guy?"

"Excuse me?" Tristan asked finally weighing in.

"Yup, never be like him understand?" Nickole laughed

"Got it." he nodded before turning back to Kobalt "Is it true you fought my father? I heard you beat him."

"I wouldn't go that far." Kobalt laughed "But if he's looking for a rematch I'm in."

"So you did fight him, what for?" Lian asked

"It was sort of like the trials you're doing." Faron chimed back in "It was a test."

"For what?"

"Uhhh, to see if he could lead a team with your sister on it." Faron blatantly lied, even Tristan knew what the fight was really about. And personally he was glad Kobalt had given him a run for his money. And damn did he laugh when he heard how Nickole socked her own father in the jaw after the whole thing was done.

"You know I've been meaning to ask how you're doing Kobalt." Nickole's mother started "Last time we saw each other you were training with Faron."

"Yeah things are going well." Kobalt said "Reunited with my family actually."

"Really? You remembered them?" Faron asked

"Ran into them more like, my mother's a professor here. When we arrived she realized it was me even after all these years." Kobalt admitted

"So what's your name then, your real one?" Citrine asked

"Kobalt Ward."

"I'm sorry it sounded like you said Ward." Faron said nearly doing a double take.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well that certainly explains a lot." Citrine laughed "Like why he was able to hand you your butt on a silver plate."

"He did not…" Faron started before regaining his composure. "The Ward family was once very much like our own, only smaller. And with a, different, reputation. They were more like traditional mercenaries."

"And more skilled." Citrine hummed "Wasn't it a Ward who beat your father in the Vytal Festival all those years ago?"

"Huh, my dad neglected to tell me that." Kobalt wondered aloud.

"He probably forgot that you forgot," Tristan suggested "Hey if my family had a cool history I'd figure everyone in it would remember."

"Or he was more worried about the whole amnesia thing in general to think about it." Nickole suggested

"Speaking of which," Faron coughed "Kobalt there are a few things we need to talk about."

"Can it wait?" Kobalt asked

"I'm afraid not." Citrine insisted

"Great both of you," Nickole sighed "Tristan can you do me a favor and take Lian for some food or something?"

"I thought you said to ignore the annoying guy?" Aurelian asked

"It's fine, I'd rather have you deal with him for a few minutes while I discuss boundaries with our parents." Nickole added "Tristan?"

"Yeah, got it." Tristan smiled, she clearly wasn't in the mood to deal with her parent's interrogation of her boyfriend. "Come on pal, I'm sure you've got some cool stories for me."

"Not really but okay." Aurelian sighed following Tristan out of the room and down the hall. Tristan awkwardly started looking for a vending machine to get the kid a snack when the boy stopped in his tracks.

"They're talking about that Black Knight stuff aren't they?" He asked Tristan

"How do you know about that?" Tristan wondered

"I've overheard my father talking about it, are they like the White Fang? They have a similar name." Lian pointed out.

"No, it's a little more complicated than that." Tristan added "But they are dangerous."

"That's what my brother said when I asked him, he said not to worry about it since there was nothing I could do yet."

"He's not wrong." Tristan said kneeling next to the boy "They're not the kind of people you can just go up against lightly. I don't think even your father could take them on alone. And I've heard stories about what he can do."

"If my dad can't beat them then who can?" Lian asked

"I said alone, one thing you'll learn after a while is that when things get rough a Huntsman is never alone." Tristan smiled "You'll always have friends or allies to stand with you."

"What's it like?"

"What's what like?" Tristan raised an eyebrow

"Being a Huntsman? My dad won't tell me what he does when he goes out on missions." Lian added "But I want to know the kinds of things I'll be doing in the future."

"Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble, and my ego, but I'm a Huntsman in training." Tristan laughed "I don't really know what I'll be doing once I become a Huntsman."

"Oh." Lian said looking away.

"But, I can tell you about the training along the way." Tristan baited, hoping this boy was like Nickole. He had realized that if he dangled even the tiniest bit of info in front of her she would bite. It looked like her little brother was the same way, as soon as Tristan mentioned training his eyes lit up.

"Really?" he asked excited "Does it get more intense? What are the sparring sessions like?"

"Oh it definitely gets more intense." Tristan laughed thinking about all the things that had happened to him since he got to Beacon. "But I'd have to say the best part about the whole thing is the full team training. Learning to work with your friends' fighting styles and powers is amazing. And when you have a good leader they can make it feel like your whole team has one big semblance instead of four separate ones."

"Do semblances really make that big of a difference?" Lian asked "My father said it's bad to rely on your semblance."

"That's funny given your dad fights exclusively with his," Tristan laughed "it would be meaningless to not use everything you've got at your disposal."

"I don't even know what mine is, I haven't trained in Aura yet. I still haven't passed my father's last trail."

"What are these trials I keep hearing about?" Tristan wondered

"Tests the head of the Gareth family makes to see who is strong enough to become a Huntsman." Aurelian told him "I'm on my father's last one now, I have to beat him in a duel."

"You have to fight your own father?"

"He's holding back, but it's still hard." Lian said looking down "I just don't stand a chance."

"Well that's not the way to think about it." Tristan said kneeling down next to the kid. "What do you think is wrong with the whole thing? Does anything feel off while you're fighting?"

"Mmhm," Lian nodded "The sword and shield he has me using feel too heavy, and I can barely move with the armor I have on."

"Then take some of the armor off and find a weapon you like better." Tristan suggested "There's no rule saying you have to use the gear he's given you, is there?"

"No but—"

"Then I bet he wants you to find your own way to beat him." Tristan cut him off "If you haven't noticed not all Huntsmen use swords and armor."

"But Nickole and Auburn do." Lian argued

"You're not your siblings, you can fight however you want, with whatever you want."

"I don't even know what I'd use instead, what other kinds of weapons are there?"

"Well let's see," Tristan thought sitting down on a small bench "Other than all the types of swords you've got daggers, spears, clubs, scythes, rapiers, axes, twinblades, hammers, staffs, gauntlet weapons, foot weapons. Stuff like that."

"I don't even know how I'd do with any of those." Aurelian sighed

"Well you seem like a quick little guy, maybe a jian would work for you." Tristan noted, the list of weapons from his early training popping backing into his head. "Short thin blade, but you can move and cut really quickly with it."

"Do I have to use it with a shield?" Aurelian asked

"Nope, the whole point of it is to be fast. A shield would slow you down, you'd have to dodge or parry attacks."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out." Tristan smiled reaching into his pocket to check his scroll. Kobalt had just messaged him to let him know he was clear. "Come on let's get heading back."

Back in the room things seemed have only recently calmed down. Kobalt was sitting on a chair next to Nickole's bed with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. His eyebrow was twitching like it did when he was holding back from saying something that was bugging him. Nickole on the other hand was looking back and forth between him and her father like one of them was about to combust. Tristan could only begin to imagine what Faron had said, but given everything going on these days he figured it was something about Black Knight Kobalt really didn't want to talk about. Faron himself looked perfectly normal, probably figured whatever he said was perfectly fine. Which was never the case with Kobalt when it came to Black Knight.

"So I take were not going to ask what you guys were talking about while we were gone?" Tristan joked

"Definitely not." Aurelian agreed walking over to his parents.

"Well we should probably go watch the next couple of rounds." Citrine spoke up, likely trying to defuse the situation before something actually happened "Wouldn't want to miss those would we?"

"Actually I was hoping we could head back to the outpost first." Lian said

"What for?" Faron asked his son

"Talking with Tristan gave me an idea." He said "If I can't beat you with the style you want me to use then I'll just have to find my own."

"But our family's best fighters have used swords and shields for generations." Faron argued "That's what I learned on before I unlocked my semblance."

"And that doesn't work for me." Lian stared at his father "But I'm not going to give up because I can't fight one way."

"You see that look in his eyes dad?" Nickole asked "Remember it cause he's determined now. I don't think he's going to be stuck on your last trial much longer."

"What did you do?" Kobalt whispered as the Gareths started filing out

"Easy, with kids if you're honest with them they're honest with you right back." Tristan said "I just talked to him."

"You just talked?" Nickole asked once her family was gone. "And he listened, to **_you_**?"

"Nickole you're the only one who finds me annoying." Tristan argued

"I find you annoying." Kobalt countered

"Come on man you're supposed to be my best friend." Tristan muttered

"I am, and you're still annoying." Kobalt laughed

A/N

Not much to say here, short chapter to give a bit of a breather.  
Plus a minor character introduction, and giving Tristan a chance to act like a grownup for a second.

Boy this is really short, it almost feels weird. Sorry, I'll be sure to give you some cool stuff in chapter 36.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it.


	36. Chapter 36: Showstopper

"So wait, you're telling me there's another person inside you?" Tristan asked after Kobalt had finished explaining to the rest of his team what his father had told him.

"It's a little more complicated than that." Kobalt sighed "I have a second personality that I apparently gave control over some kind of powers I have."

"And he can take control over from you?" Tristan tried again

"Kind of, it's weird." Kobalt said for the second time "But essentially yes."

"But it feels like it's still him doing everything, try to keep up." Justin shook his head

"Finally someone who gets it!" Kobalt exclaimed "Justin can you try to explain it to your brother if he still doesn't figure it out."

"I'll try, he can be dense at times." Justin nodded

"Excuse me?" Tristan yelled " **I** can be dense?"

"It took Kobalt about an hour and a half to explain that whole thing to you because you needed to hear it twice." Justin countered

"Wait it's been more than an hour?" Kobalt asked looking at the clock "Shit! I'm supposed to be heading to the Colosseum for the first round of the finals."

He looked over at Nickole trying to figure out what to do. He had promised to help her get to the stands to watch but he needed to get moving quickly.

"What are you waiting for, get moving!" Nickole ordered "Tristan get me my crutches."

"You sure?" Kobalt asked

"Are you kidding me? You can't afford to miss the finals, I'll be fine just get going." Nickole told him

"Don't worry I'll make sure she gets there in time." Tristan assured him

"Thanks." Kobalt said taking off as fast as he could from the infirmary. He hauled out of Haven and hopped on the first airship headed for Amity Colosseum. Fortunately it seemed he would make it just in time, people were still shuffling into the stands when he arrived. He filed in with the rest of the finalists just as they were heading out into the arena. Surprisingly enough it was Jazz who was right next to him at the end of the line.

"Hey, Nickole alright?" she whispered as the announcers started parroting the rules to the final rounds.

"Yeah, she's okay, nothing serious." Kobalt whispered back

"How bout you?" she asked

"I'm fine." Kobalt sighed

"If you say so." Jazz shrugged.

"Now without further ado let's get to the first of the one on one matches!" Sorrel shouted from the announcer box.

Kobalt looked up to the screen to see the randomizer start spinning through the remaining contestants. He hadn't even had a moment to look over the rest of the people he was up against. Jazz he knew, same with Furi, but all the other people were complete strangers to him. Until he caught sight of one, her face flashed for just a moment on the randomizer, but Kobalt hadn't forgotten what Luna Langlias looked like. He peered down the line to see her at the very front of it, beaming as if surprised to be there.

 _Oh please let it be her_ , Kobalt thought as the randomizer kept spinning. He would very much enjoy knocking her out for what she did to Nickole. But in the end it wasn't Luna who was drawn for the first round of the finals. Kobalt saw his picture up there though, right next to Jazz's.

"And there we have it, Jasmine Gale of Beacon versus Kobalt Ward of Beacon." Sorrel announced as the rest of the finalists left the stage.

"Geez is this thing rigged?" Jazz asked as the platform rose "If I didn't know better I'd say they set this up to lower Beacon's chance at winning."

"Who knows." Kobalt shrugged, wondering if Nickole had made it to the arena yet. As much as he wanted to be here right now, with everything that had just gone done another part of him really wanted Nickole here with him.

"Hey wake up man!" Jazz shouted, drawing his attention back to what was in front of him. He looked up to see the counter was almost down to zero. "You gonna take this seriously or not?"

"Excuse me?" Kobalt asked

"You're already drifting off over there." Jazz pointed at him "Am I so un-intimidating that you think you can zone out?"

"What? No it's not that." Kobalt told her

"Good, cause I'm not going to have anyone say I beat you because you were holding back on me." Jazz grinned, pulling her sword out of the sheath at her hip.

Kobalt slowly drew his own sword as Jazz rushed him the moment the timer hit zero. He casually blocked her attack, not moving an inch. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was entertaining the idea of stalling a few minutes so Nickole would be in the crowd. He didn't even bother counter attacking Jazz as she came at him, but the longer it went on the more something was bothering him. There was a low humming noise permeating through the arena.

"Do you hear that?" Kobalt asked Jazz as it grew louder and louder.

"Hmph, boy are you in for a surprise." Jazz grinned jumping back. "You've been all but showing off your semblance since the first day of school. Me, I've been waiting for this moment to show off mine."

Without another word Jazz raised her hand and slammed in down to the arena floor. The second she did the humming blasted into full blown techno music and the floor started rumbling. If Kobalt didn't know better, he'd have thought the whole platform was vibrating. The music got louder and louder and it was clear the audience was just as confused as he was. He was just about to ask Jazz what was going on when the tiles at his feet suddenly shot upwards as the beat dropped in the music and sent him flying.

"What the?!" Kobalt gasped as he flew through the air, high above he was able to get a pretty good look at the arena. Centered at Jazz the whole platform was resonating with the music, tiles rising and falling having been turned into bars by something. He landed back down with a thud as the music slowed down.

"Did you just…" he started

"Turn the whole platform into an audio visualizer?" Jazz laughed as she looked around admiring her work "Yup, God I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to do this! You should see the look on your face!"

"And the music?"

"Oh that's the best part!" Jazz exclaimed "That's me! I'm generating it! Cool huh?"

"You missed your calling." Kobalt told her "Shoulda been a musician."

"And you should've been paying more attention to the beat." Jazz smirked, rushing back in. The second she reached him the music picked up again causing one of the tiles at his feet to shoot up, nearly sending him flying and setting him off balance. Jazz sliced at him as he staggered to the side, nearly knocking him off his feet. She wound up and punched him square in the jaw, spinning him around as a bar rose and he slammed face first into it. Pushing himself back he turned around with a slice, instead of Jazz however, his blade bounced off another bar. As the ones at his feet shot up he heard a short whistle and looked up to see Jazz plummeting towards him, he raised his sword in time to block hers but she rotated down and kicked him dead in the chest. Another bar rose, sending him flying the second he reached solid ground.

Kobalt couldn't even keep himself steady, every time his feet touched the ground he was sent back up or had the floor dropped out from underneath him. Just as he managed to find a piece of the platform that wasn't bumping with the music he felt a presence behind him. He turned just in time to see Jazz dropped low, her sword in both hands as she thrust it at him. Her blade made contact with his chest as the beat dropped again. The attack alone sent him flying, but when the bars shot up he sped through the air even faster. He saw his feet fly past the edge of the platform and his heart sunk, he was about to lose. To Jazz of all people, he never thought she was anywhere near this good. But here she was, about to ring him out in the first round of the finals, it was almost infuriating.

"Kobalt!" a girl's voice shouted over the roar of the music.

 _Nickole?_ He realized, as his mind started racing. Where was she, had she made it in time after all? _No. He focused I am not losing with her watching, not this easily._

Kobalt quickly sheathed his sword and channeled as much energy as he dared into a huge blast beneath him, propelling him back up towards the platform. He landed as Jazz used her semblance to cause the central set of tiles to raise her upwards, probably to gloat. She looked down as he landed and didn't hide her shock. Checking his scroll Kobalt noted his Aura was almost half drained at this point, he'd have to make every ounce of his remaining energy count. Jazz must've noticed his lack of Aura too, because that moment she turned her music up even louder, sending bigger waves pulsing towards him. Kobalt drew on just enough of his reserves to put himself into overdrive. With his senses heightened he was able to start getting a feel for the music, anticipating the when a tile would shoot up and how strong it would be. As he pushed forward he felt the music coming to a big finale, the ground beneath him shot up, propelling him high into the air. But this time he was ready for it, bracing himself as he went up. from there he could see Jazz had lowered herself back down as the music kept building up to what they both knew would be the end of this duel.

He landed back down, shattering a couple of the tiles on impact and took off running straight for Jazz. He rolled over waves and danced around pillars as they rose up in front of him. He was getting closer, mere feet from Jazz now. As a wall rose between them he leapt into the air above it, whistling as he sped back down. This time it was Jazz who barely managed to get her sword up in time to block his attack. There was no kick from him though as a set of pillars brought Jazz back up and left him in the dust. Kobalt jumped up, using the pillars rising from her music to get closer and closer to her. With one last burst of energy he propelled himself towards her, Jazz was ready though, her sword already slicing in an arc towards him. He parried it to the side with his own and dropped it, using his now free hand to land a solid punch dead center of her chest. He grabbed on to the pillar she was standing on as she fell to the ground. Hitting the ground was enough to knock out the rest of her Aura, ending the match. The pillar Kobalt was hanging on slid back down as Jazz's semblance faded. The music was still playing though, it must not take much out of her to keep that up. She managed to sit herself up, but she seemed pretty drained.

"Now that was not what I was expecting." Kobalt smiled walking over to give her a hand up. "Kinda wish we'd saved that for the finale or something."

"You're telling me," Jazz laughed taking his hand and pulling herself up "How are your opponents supposed to follow something that awesome?"

"I don't think they can." Kobalt chuckled as she shook his hand.

"You better win this thing you know." She told him "It's all on you for a Beacon win this year."

"Well when you put it that way," Kobalt shrugged "Don't have much choice do I?"

"No you don't." Jazz added "Come on, and grab your team. Drinks are on me tonight."

"You do know the rest of my team can't drink right?" Kobalt asked

"Neither can mine." She added as they walked off the arena "They're just coming to make sure we get back in one piece."

To Kobalt's surprise, the rest of JADE was already there waiting with Kobalt's team shuffling in right behind them. Nickole looked like she was having a hard time on her crutches.

"And here I was worrying you guys might miss the fight." Kobalt said walking over and steadying Nickole before she fell over.

"We nearly did, good thing they had it on the monitors outside." Nickole told him

"Wait you guys weren't in the stands?" Kobalt asked

"No why?" Tristan asked

"It's nothing," Kobalt shifted "Must've just been my imagination."

"Doesn't matter, were going out for a drink." Jazz insisted leading the way outside already.

"But we can't," Nickole started

"Just roll with it." Kobalt sighed "I think we're all too tired to argue."

"Should've known Jazz would want to celebrate no matter who won." Amy shrugged as they followed her out.

Kobalt took a deep breath and sheathed his sword, the last of the beowolves was slowly turning to smoke in front of him. He checked his Aura, it was just a little under half. All things considered that was better than it should be, still though he didn't like it.

"Hey how long till I'm back to normal?" Kobalt asked moving back to the console "It's getting to be a problem, last augmentation was months ago."

"All in due time Kobalt." The Chairman told him, "Now, do you have the colony's security data?"

"Yep." Kobalt grunted, pulling the rather large hard drive out of the main computer. Damn thing was almost as big as a large scroll and much thicker. He hooked it onto his belt, careful to keep it away from his left side and the magnetic holster.

"Good stand by for…" The Chairman started before cutting out.

"Uhh, boss? Something wrong with coms?" Kobalt asked, usually communications were clear unless they were doing maintenance on the tower.

"Hang on we're getting an unusual report from the dropship." Dusk called out "I'm patching you into their frequency."

"…position since he hit the ground." The dropship's com officer echoed in "But we've spotted some weird movement since he entered the security building. Can you confirm what we're seeing sir?"

There was a brief moment of silence before the Chairman cursed and came back onto the coms shouting.

"Kobalt get out of there!" he ordered

"Sir what's-" Kobalt started to ask as he moved for the exit, before he could finish the whole building shook.

"You don't have time for an explanation, get moving!" Dusk yelled again

"Sir!" Kobalt acknowledged, raising a hand and blasting a hole in the ceiling. He leapt through it and landed on the roof. The clouds had moved back over the moon and darkness was all he could see, but he could feel the presence behind him. Turning around all he could see were a pair of bright red eyes, big ones, swaying back and forth. His instincts told him to move just as the part of the building he was standing on burst apart as the eyes shot forward. Kobalt heard a light hissing as the eyes backed away and decided he wanted nothing to do with whatever they were attached to. He turned on his heels and hauled ass in the opposite direction of whatever it was he just saw. He jumped across the rooftops as he fled, hoping that would at least slow the thing down. His hopes were dashed when he looked down to see the eyes still following him from the streets below and he wondered just how the hell he was going to get away. Sensing his hesitation, the eyes pounced again. This time Kobalt barely managed to roll out of the way before what seemed like a huge pair of jaws clamped down on the air in front of him. He shot a quick energy blast at them and kept running.

"So guys, about that pickup?" Kobalt called out into the coms

"We're circling above, head for building at the eastern end of town." The pilot answered "We need to make this quick, that thing is fast."

"Yeah, well at least you've got an airship." Kobalt added "Imagine it on foot."

"That's your job not mine." The pilot told him coldly.

 _And I thought the directors could be icicles_. Kobalt thought as he leapt across to another building, two more to go. But whatever was chasing him was starting to pick up on what he was running for, it had been all but ignoring him and had focused on following the dropship. To try and distract it, Kobalt drew his pistol and fired a few rounds. But his replacement lacked the firepower his old one had, and the rounds merely bounced off the creature. Though the quick bursts of light from their impact revealed the white plate that covered the creature's head. Kobalt hadn't questioned it must be some type of Grimm, but he could barely tell what kind of Grimm it was in this darkness. He wasn't even sure he'd seen one like it before. Of course, the type of Grimm it could be was the furthest thing down on Kobalt's priorities. Highest of which was getting in the dropship, which had just reached the building in front of him. With everything he had Kobalt pushed himself one last time and jumped as far as he could. He crossed the gap between buildings and landed in the ship's bay.

"He's in punch it!" the door gunner shouted as Kobalt managed to bring himself to his feet. Then he looked out across at the street he just cleared, and he knew the airship wasn't rising fast enough. The Grimm that had been following them was making a B-line right for them.

"I said punch it!" the gunner shouted, his finger slowly finding the trigger to his turret. As he started to light it up, Kobalt finally got a good look at the monster. It was huge, easily the size of one of Black Knight's larger airships, serpentine with a pair of fangs big enough to be swords. It opened its mouth and some kind of dark liquid shot out of it. Reflexively Kobalt tackled the gunner to the ground as the liquid his the turret, melting it right down to the frame. Kobalt brought himself up and started channeling every last bit of energy he had left. It wasn't much, and the Grimm was getting closer faster than he'd be able to charge up enough to hurt it. When it got close enough for Kobalt to make out its forked tongue, he fired off as large a blast of energy as he could manage. Straight down at the ground. As the beast closed in Kobalt's blast combined with the airship's thrust shot them up high enough to be out of reach. The pilot gunned the throttle forward and back to base.

"What the hell was that thing?" Kobalt asked as he slammed the bay door shut.

"Looked like a snake that got too big for my taste." The gunner breathed

"That was no king taijitu." Kobalt argued, "I've never seen anything like that."

"There are more Grimm funneling into the colony now too." the pilot added "I think that thing is drawing them in."

"I hope whatever's on this drive is worth it." Kobalt said as he looked down at the horde of Grimm now roaming the colony.

A/N

Yup, flashback at the end of a chapter this time. What can I say I felt like shaking things up, change the formula.

Plus I kind of forgot about it with the fight scene and all, I came up with Jazz's semblance WAY back and I've been saving it for this fight. Got the idea from my own audio visualizer, I just couldn't help but think what it must be like to fight on something like that.  
Honestly this chapter alone makes me wish KNGT was a show instead, the fight would've looked much cooler than my description if you could actually SEE it. Plus if that had been the case I could've been subtly hinting at Jazz's semblance from the beginning, like having a mini one in her dorm room barely visible unless you look for it or having music play but not clear speakers.

And sorry for getting this one out later, went out to see the new Star Wars movie with my brother yesterday afternoon. And then we wind up hanging out at his place talking about the movie for more than a couple hours before I realize, "Wait, this isn't my house." And decide I should probably head home.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it.


	37. Chapter 37: A Battle on Two Fronts

Sterling sighed as he entered his living room, another long boring day in the lab. It was too bad the General didn't commission more exciting projects, Sterling was basically handing everything off to his apprentice for training. By the time he got back to his home his mind was so numb from lack of use he could barely open the door. Getting back he deciding to 'exercise' his mind by mixing a rather complicated cocktail. Perhaps not the most sensible decision after a day not using his head, but he barely cared at this point. Taking his drink in hand he flipped on the TV, fully intent on tuning into an old colleague's press conference. Instead it was still on the Atlas News Network, which was currently broadcasting the Vytal Tournament. It seemed the semifinal rounds were starting up, the first of which was beginning just now.

"And there we have it, Jasmine Gale of Beacon versus Kobalt Ward of Beacon." One of the announcers called out.

 _Ward?_ Sterling thought, _I don't recall meeting a_ _ **Kobalt**_ _Ward._

Intrigued, Sterling took a seat and decided to watch the fight. Very quickly it seemed this Kobalt was either holding back and simply didn't care, he barely bothered fighting back as the match progressed. Suddenly the girl he was fighting slammed her hand to the ground and the whole stadium erupted in music. The arena tiles rose and fall with the music and the girl launched a new attack, sending Kobalt flying out of the ring. Believing that was that Sterling went to take a sip of his drink, but when Kobalt blasted himself back to the ring with a wave of blue energy he nearly spit it all up.

"It couldn't be." Sterling gasped taking a closer look at the young boy, he had looked almost familiar before but looking more closely Sterling was reminded of something from years ago. Pale white skin, dark black hair with a single streak of blue in it, and bright blue eyes. He had the look of Seraphina, and with that energy there was only one person it could be. Sterling didn't wait for the match to end, he reached for his scroll and called his daughter.

"Dad? What are you calling for at this time of night?" Sera asked, the sounds of the arena crowd in the background.

"Sweetheart is there something you've forgotten to tell me?" he asked her "Something to do with the young man fighting in the tournament right now?"

"Oh my, I guess I was a bit out of sorts. I forgot to call you." Sera chuckled awkwardly over the call "My son's come back."

"Yes well I gathered as much." Sterling laughed "What happened to him?"

"It's a rather long story, and I'd rather not tell it over a call." She added "I'm sure you have a hundred questions about it all."

"Well if that's the case why not have him tell me," he suggested "In person."

"Dad I'm not sure if that's a good idea, he was involved with some dangerous people before he came back." His daughter informed him

"Then what safer place is there than Atlas?" he asked "What kind of people could get him here? In the military district no less."

"Even still..." she paused

"Sera I have seen my grandson a single time, and he was only just born." Sterling added "If you're that worried about his safety I could speak to General Ironwood about it. Or you could pay attention to the match."

As Sterling was talking he noticed Kobalt had begun truly fighting back against his opponent. It was a sight to behold, his skill despite being behind was impressive. In fact he seemed to be even more driven because of his potential failure. His speed, skill, and grace were incredible. He moved like a dance around and through pillars as they shot up with the music, attacking with precision not once missing his mark. As his foe pushed herself up and away from him he climbed up the pillars and boosted himself towards her, knocking her off the platform and securing his victory.

"He's something else isn't he?" Sterling asked

"You don't know the half of it." Sera told him "Alright, I'll ask him about it, there should be a large break from school coming after the tournament. I don't know what he'll say, Marek and I haven't seen him in over a decade ourselves."

"Wait Marek is back as well?"

"Oops?" she tried

"Don't tell me you just let him off the hook for abandoning you?" Sterling nearly roared

"Dad our son disappeared, Marek was never one to sit still in times like that." She explained "Besides I thought Kobalt was giving him enough of a hard time for the both of us."

"Oh?"

"I'll explain it to you another time." she insisted

"He's right there isn't he?" Sterling realized

"Marek says hello." Sera sighed "And sorry."

"Oh yes **_sorry_** makes up for everything he did to my daughter." Sterling added sarcastically

"Goodbye dad."

"Goodbye dear." Sterling smiled as he hung up the call.

It very slowly began dawning on him how much work he'd have to do if he was about to see his grandson. This was not only his daughter's son, but a Ward as well, which meant if he wanted to follow the family tradition he'd want a weapon. A real weapon, Sterling was nearly bouncing up and down at the prospect of making something worthy of the title again, something he would be proud to give his grandson.

Determined to actually watch the fight in person this time, Nickole arrived at the colosseum long before the first match even began. She still needed help getting there though, so now she was stuck listening to Tristan and Amber being such a stereotypical cute couple it was nearly making her vomit. It was so sickening Nickole was almost positive it was all an act, a way for Amber to mark her territory. That being said it was probably unnecessary, because despite rushing to her side in the quarter finals Kobalt still had a following. The second he made it to the semifinals there was a much larger focus on him in general, and of course the number of girls fawning over him had increased as well. It seemed he had particularly large group of fans from Atlas, which wasn't all too surprising considering he had his mother's Atlas appearance rather than his father's. Still, it bothered her to no end, didn't some of these girls realize he already had a girlfriend? She couldn't help but wonder how the hell Amber was able to put up with it all, especially after years of it. She nearly turned over to ask her when she remembered how nauseous the couple next to her was being. Rolling her eyes Nickole turned her attention to the arena, where they were getting set for the next round. She could barely see Kobalt too, after the first round they didn't bother having all the contestants on the floor at once. So now he was waiting off to the side while they got the arena ready. She had barely managed to glimpse his dark armor when her scroll went off, seeing it was him she looked back down to see he had a hand raised to his head and was waving.

"Hey you okay?" Kobalt asked her when she picked up the call and plugged in her headphones so she could hear him.

"Yeah why?" asked Nickole, confused

"Well you are sitting next to the world's most annoying couple." Kobalt chuckled into the mic.

"Oh they'll calm down once the fight actually starts up." Nickole added "What about you, getting more nervous as the rounds go on?"

"More like anxious, I'm all but itching to get out there again." He told her, and even from up in the stands Nickole could see the smile on his face.

"Well let's see if you're up next." She said as the arena was prepped and the randomizer started up.

With only four contestants left the odds were good that Kobalt would be up next. Of course luck had never been in Kobalt's favor, and it wound up being Furi Midori up next. And he was against the last member of Atlas to make it to this far, Ziel Strahl. The fourth year Atlas student had barely broken a sweat in the previous round against a Vacuo opponent, and if Nickole remembered he all but single handedly fought in the rest of the tournament. He was good there was no doubt about it, and it wasn't just raw skill. He didn't carry a weapon, instead he fought in a white and carbon fiber combat suit that looked more advanced than most gear Nickole had seen before. It probably enhanced his strength too in addition to whatever else it might do. Despite all this, Furi looked perfectly calm, as though he wasn't even troubled by his opponent.

"I'll let you go," Kobalt said "This ought to be a good fight, won't want to miss it."

The timer had barely hit zero when suddenly Ziel punched the air in front of him, seemingly warming up at first. But as his fist flew in the air Nickole heard the sound of glass shattering, and Ziel's fist suddenly appeared in front of Furi. Looking down Nickole noticed glass floating in the air next to both ends of Ziel's hand, broken into thousands of pieces but not falling to the ground. It was clear Ziel had kicked things up to eleven right out of the gate, the match had barely started and already he was showcasing his semblance, something he had hidden in the preliminary matches. Furi was caught off guard, barely managed to get his sword and sheath up in time to block the following attacks launched by Ziel. Once he realized his opponent was able to reach across the distance however, he quickly righted himself and started easily dodging the attacks. As Furi rolled under an attack he came up, slicing with his blade and sending a wave of plasma at Ziel. With his opponent briefly distracted, Furi charged forwards closing the distance in an instant. The speed of his attacks was incredible, and Nickole was starting to wonder just how well she might've faired against him if it was her up there. Furi was good, and Kobalt might've done too well a job helping him with his semblance. The green plasma that glowed along his blade seemed brighter than before, and if Professor Midori had been any indication then the brighter it was the more powerful it was. He attacked quickly and mercilessly, dropping Ziel's Aura rapidly.

Before Furi could continue any further, Ziel's hand shot out followed by a loud bang as a huge explosion separated the two. Ziel pumped his arm and Nickole saw the glint of a used up Dust core eject from his gauntlet. He loaded what looked like a new bright blue one into it and settled into an offensive stance. The moment Furi moved an inch, Ziel dashed forward and throwing out punches that reached through space like before, leaving the same broken glass in the air as before. He didn't slow down while attacking, striking out as he ran as fast as he seemed to be able to. Once he was in range Furi tried to launch a counter attack, only to be met with a rapid serious of blocks as Ziel showed just how much experience he had dueling. Now that he knew how fast Furi was he had adjusted extremely quickly, and was now dropping Furi's Aura, though slowly. For his part Furi was barely able to block the occasional hit, and seemed to be fumbling the fight at this point.

"Seems he finally found someone to give him a run for his money." Nickole heard an all too familiar voice through her headphones as she realized she never took them out. Luna. "He's never fought anyone worthwhile."

"You clearly don't know your classmate very well." Kobalt scoffed, he must not have hung up the call.

"Oh and you do?" Luna asked him, staying fairly amicable despite their last encounter.

"Better than you, clearly." Kobalt retorted, almost angrily from the sounds of it. "Maybe if you paid attention you'd see Furi is holding back."

As if on cue Furi lashed out, knocking Ziel's hand away and brought his blade across his chest. Ziel's Aura dipped even lower, below the halfway mark now. Before Furi could finish him off however, Ziel dropped his hand through space to the ground and a mountain of ice shot out from the point of impact carrying Furi up into the air. Still in the air, he sheathed his blade and it was clear he was charging it as he fell. He landed at the top of the ice mountain and slid down, sliding around Ziel's fists as the shot out towards him. Slowly Ziel started backing away from the ice as Furi sped towards him, but he should've been running instead. Furi reached the bottom of the ice and kicked off, propelling himself towards Ziel at lightning speed. In the split second before Ziel could react, Furi unsheathed his blade and cleaved through him as he passed by. He landed a few feet back and returned his blade to its sheath as the match was called. Ziel's Aura was a sliver away from being depleted, and Furi's was still above half.

"Nice job man." Kobalt congratulated Furi as he walked off the arena "I'm going to regret teaching you soon aren't I?"

"That depends on you." Furi chuckled, "You're up next, and keep in mind I want a rematch."

"Noted." Kobalt laughed as he walked on to the arena himself now, there was no need for him to wait for the randomizer. There was only one opponent left for him to face, Luna. At this point Nickole knew she should hang up the call and stop listening in on the fight. But she couldn't help herself.

"I wouldn't fret about your rematch with him just yet," Luna said as the counter began "I don't plan on going down without a fight."

"And I don't plan on playing nice." Kobalt spat back at her.

"Ooh do I sense some animosity?" Luna chuckled "How is Nickole doing right now, those legs look like they hurt."

Nickole could hear Kobalt seething at the comment over the scroll, Luna was clearly trying to piss him off. And it was working rather easily, perhaps too well. Nickole knew it would take more than jabs like that to set Kobalt off balance, and she knew from training that he fought…differently when he was mad.

The instant the countdown was done, Kobalt blasted himself towards Luna, draining a quarter of his Aura in the process. But something about it wasn't right, that alone shouldn't have drained much. It wasn't until Luna surrounded herself in an orb that Nickole knew why, not even bothering to draw his sword Kobalt punched clean through, shattering the orb without even slowing down. When Nickole saw the flames trailing his fist she knew that he hadn't blasted himself forward, he had sped forwards after putting himself in overdrive. Excessively in overdrive. His punch connected to Luna's face and sent her flying off the edge of the arena. In less than a second Kobalt was above her off the ring himself, he slammed both his hands into her gut sending her plummeting down to the floor below as he launched himself back to the arena. Luna crashed into the ground so hard she left a crater in the floor and her Aura was more than gone.

"Unbelievable!" Viridian called out as the arena floor lowered and the crowd went nuts. "A three second match ending in a knockout ring out combination!"

As Kobalt began to walk off the arena Luna managed to push herself to her knees, if she had been put off by Kobalt back when he stopped her from hurting Nickole then she was livid now. Activating her saber she threw it at Kobalt while his back was turned. His Aura was up so there was no point in it, but his reflexes were still heightened by overdrive. He ducked under the saber, grabbed it out of the air and hurled it back towards Luna, impaling it at the ground to her side.

"And my mother thinks of you as one of her favorites." Kobalt scoffed as he turned back around and left without another word. Nickole immediately ended the call, she was practically shaking. For the briefest of moments she was worried Kobalt's other side might take control and make things much worse.

"So that's all it takes for an idol to fall huh?" Amber asked as the colosseum grew quiet. "I looked into her you know, people love her she's like a folk hero. But after what she just did, attacking him with his back turned like that…"

"I hope Kobalt's alright." Tristan added

"Kobalt? Are you joking?" Amber nearly shouted "With how easily he just took her down I don't think we need to worry about him."

"Easily, more like brutally." Tristan corrected "That wasn't like him. Say what you will about Kobalt, he's not brutal."

"But his flames were blue." Nickole told them "If it was really—"

She stopped herself, Amber had no idea about Kobalt's dark side. And there was no telling who might be listening to the three of them right now.

"If it was what?" Amber asked

"It's a long story." Tristan sighed "Kobalt's past is more complicated than we thought."

"You're kidding me." said Amber "What is going on?"

Nickole opened her mouth with every intention of saying she'd explain somewhere else, but as she did her scroll rang in her pocket. She pulled it out to see the caller ID was Mrs. Ward.

"Hello?" Nickole answered hesitantly

"Nickole, something's wrong." Mrs. Ward spoke, her voice was shaky "It's Kobalt, I don't know what to do. Something's very wrong."

"I need to get down there, now." Nickole said putting her scroll back in her pocket and pushing herself up. She grabbed her crutches and pushed herself as fast as she could to the stairs.

"Hey hold up." Amber called after her as she started to move down the stairs. "You barely made it up with help you can't go down."

"That was Kobalt's mom, something is going on." Nickole said as she shakily started her way down the steps.

"Tristan?" Amber asked behind her.

"Already on it." Tristan added as he grabbed Nickole's arm and threw it over his shoulder. "You need to get down there fast, fine. But you're not getting down these stairs without help."

"Thanks." Nickole breathed as she was helped down.

"Amber a hand?" Tristan asked, his voice strained "I'm not Justin."

"Right yeah." Amber nodded, heading over to Nickole's right side and helping in the same way as Tristan. "Starting to understand what I see in him?"

"Nope." Nickole insisted as they hit the bottom of the stairs and she took off ahead with her crutches. Her arms were going to be dead by the time she stopped, but right now she wasn't even giving it a second thought. She found the entrance to the arena floor and burst through it into the long hallway that lead out onto it. There she saw Kobalt, halfway down with one hand against the wall and the other on his head. Further down a crater had been punched into the wall the size of Nickole's shield. Mrs. Ward was just behind him, clearly trying to do something for her son. Nickole rushed forward to find Kobalt with his eyes shut tight and his jaw clenched.

"Get out of my head." He muttered as they all got closer, opening his eyes it was almost as if there was a haze to them. He started to fall forwards, and Nickole rushed to catch him before he fell, ignoring the pain in her legs as she caught him.

"Come on Blue, stay with me." Nickole whispered as she barely managed to pull him up.

"I had to end that quickly," Kobalt breathed "It was all I could do to keep him back."

"The other you?" Nickole asked him quietly.

"I was angry enough already just dealing with her, but then she mentioned you and what happened in the last doubles match." Kobalt nodded "And I could **feel** him raging, he wanted to tear her apart."

"It's okay, it's over." She told him shakily, every part of her was worried he might fall apart right then and there. "Just calm down, push him out."

"I'm trying it's just…" he started, then Nickole felt him start burning up, every part of Kobalt's body was emitting heat like an oven. Nickole pulled him in closer, almost trying to keep him there with her as if he would run if she let go. It seemed to do the trick, for all of ten seconds. But just as Nickole was starting to think Kobalt might be calmed down, Luna walked into the hallway from the arena.

"What's going on here? After what he did to me you're all worried about _him_?" she asked incredulously "What is wrong with him?"

"What's wrong with him?!" Nickole reeled, any anger from Kobalt being channeled to her as she nearly lost it. "You're what's wrong! This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" Luna asked "If he wasn't so concerned for you he wouldn't have been so angry in the first place!"

"Are you kidding me, where do you get off saying that? You're the one who hated my family so much that you just had to try and humiliate me, probably hoping to get me out of your way too!" Nickole shouted "Then you go and try to piss him off in the match because you didn't get him after all! If he wasn't such a good person you'd be in far worse shape than you are now! Just leave him alone!"

"Good person? He's the furthest thing from a good person I've ever-" Luna started as she walked forward, but before could continue she was cut off by the flash of a blade flying past her head. Nickole's jaw dropped as she saw Mrs. Ward's disc blade impaled into the wall, her light cable cutting Luna off from walking further.

"P-professor?" Luna stuttered, a similar look of shock on her face.

"Your presence is hazardous to my son right now, and after what you did upon losing I don't want you anywhere near him." Sera spoke, scarily calm. It almost looked like there was a dark cloud hanging over her. "Take one more step, and for the next few moments I will not be your teacher."

"Professor please just let me explain." Luna pleaded, a look of concern finally filling her face.

"Just go!" Nickole shouted, stepping out from Kobalt to try and get her point across. She was so angry she complete forgot she was in casts. The moment she stepped forward and put all her weight on her leg it pain seared through her and she cried out as she plummeted to the floor. She barley registered the thought of bracing herself for a hard landing when a pair of hands shot out, catching her a mere few inches from the ground. Nickole looked up at him to see his eyes calm and clear, and she breathed a sigh of relief. At least for the moment, Kobalt was back to normal.

"You okay?" he asked, standing back up.

"Why do you even care about her?!" Luna shouted, and Nickole's heart dropped when Kobalt turned to her, his eyes dark. But it wasn't him who lashed out this time, it wasn't even his mother which is who Nickole would've guessed next. A loud gunshot rang out behind them all, and a trail of smoke rose from the ground at Luna's feet. A warning shot. Nickole careened her head to see Tristan with his rifle raised.

"You don't know a damn thing about either of these two! You don't know what he's been through, what they've been through together!" Tristan shouted, loud even for him when he got mad, his usual bright green eyes so dark they almost seemed like Kobalt's. "And you still think you can talk to them like that? Get the hell away from my friends or there's going to be a stump where your leg used to be."

Luna must've finally run out of courage, as she sprinted away the moment Tristan sighted his rifle. The moment she was out of sight Kobalt's eyes cleared again, and as he breathed it seemed like the whole hallway grew lighter. As Nickole slowly calmed herself down, she noticed both Tristan and Mrs. Ward had hands held to their hands.

"Tristan, you okay?" Amber asked, grabbing her boyfriend's arm.

"Got the mother of all headaches, but yeah." He said lowering his hand.

"Mom, are you-" Kobalt started

"I'm fine Kobalt," Sera sighed "I'm just, processing. In the meantime, Nickole should have her legs looked at."

"She's right, how are you holding up?" Kobalt asked her

"I'll live, I think I can make the walk to infirmary." She told him

"For those of you just tuning back in you may be about to wish you never left. As today, at the 38th Vytal Festival Tournament we have two new records." News reporter Lisa Lavender announced "Not only do we have the first time in thirty years that a fourth year student has lost to a first year, but we also have the shortest match in the tournament's history."

"That's right Lisa, a whopping three second long match between the last two contestants in the semifinals." Cyril Ian continued with the story "In the duel between Luna Langlias of Haven and Kobalt Ward of Beacon, Kobalt knocked Luna out of the ring and dropped her Aura in a single attack. Let's replay the clip shall we?"

The TV went on to replay Kobalt's near instantaneous victory over Luna, the timer reaches zero and the moment the match begins Kobalt ends it.

"Now that is truly something else, for those of you who can't figure out why this is such a big deal let us put some things in perspective for you. The next shortest match took place during the 32nd Vytal Festival and lasted forty-nine seconds." Lisa explained "That's nearly seventeen times as long, and the match was by no means close either. If we compare this to the other match of the evening, it almost seems like it never happened."

"In the match shortly before Kobalt's and Luna's, Furi Midori beat Ziel Strahl in one minute and twenty two seconds. Which is fairly close to the average time a semi-final match often takes, making it more impressive as Furi is a first year student at Haven." Cyril added "Yet despite being the only first year in thirty years to beat a fourth year student, it seems his own record may be overshadowed by his competitor's. In light of the situation we reached out to many of the spectators to get their take on the duel. Here's what they had to say."

"It was almost brutal the way he just plowed through her wasn't it?" a female spectator said as she came on screen "Knocking her out of bounds before slamming her back down, I don't know maybe it's just me but that seemed harsh."

"I'd never seen someone move that fast before in my life." An older man said "It was incredible, he never stopped moving. It was like she was a bug being splattered on the windshield."

"He just exploded on her, it was nuts." A Haven student added "Took her apart like she was nothing."

"These were only a few of the comments we got regarding the speed, and though I do hate to say it; near brutality of the fight." Lisa commented as the video rolled back to her and Cyril before switching to another student. "So we decided to dig deeper and find out if there was a reason why the match had gone this way."

"I've seen Kobalt around the Festival grounds plenty of times already," a young girl said "He seemed nice, like a normal guy. And he seemed like he was having fun in the rest of the fights. So it was weird seeing the way that duel went."

"I heard Luna had a thing for Kobalt, and when she found out he was dating someone already she took it out on them." A girl from Atlas said "Maybe Kobalt was trying to make her stop."

"She had it coming you ask me." The next student said, a Beacon student based of his uniform. "About a month before the tournament started up Luna got into a fight with Nickole Gareth, one of Kobalt's teammates. I saw it, you want brutal? That was brutal. Nickole threw everything she had at her and didn't make a scratch. Then Luna turns around and bangs Nickole up so bad Kobalt jumped in to stop the fight. I'd never seen someone as pissed as he was."

"I've known Kobalt since our Initiation at Beacon. He's a good guy, funny, smart. Get to know him and he'll stick up for you in a heartbeat." Jazz said coming into focus "He'll doing anything to help others, on a field trip he risked his life to save people from a crashed airship. And his team is like his family, not just his friends. Mess with them, well I'd feel sorry for you but you were warned."

"Unfortunately Kobalt and Luna, as well as both their teams, were unreachable for comments. We did however manage to speak with Furi, who will soon be Kobalt's opponent." Lisa said

"So why do you think Kobalt ended the fight so quickly?" Cyril asked as the video rolled to yet another clip.

"I'm sure a lot of people are wondering the same thing, most of those people don't know Luna." Furi said "I don't even know her that well and I have a good idea why. You've probably heard by now, but there's some bad blood between the two of them."

"You're referring to the duel between Luna and Nickole?" Cyril asked

"Yeah, that didn't end well for anyone. And Luna can hold a grudge, but I think Kobalt would've been willing to go easier if she hadn't." Furi went on "If Luna had just treated that like a normal duel maybe it wouldn't have gone the way it did."

"You think she took the match too personally?"

"She takes everything personal, on top of that she's cocky and she talks too much during fights." Furi answered "I think she said something to Kobalt before the match started, something that really pissed him off."

"Do you think she was trying to make him angry on purpose?"

"Maybe, it's hard to tell, but it wouldn't work on him anyway. His skill in combat is more than just raw strength. He's level headed and focused, regardless of what his emotions are. I'd know, I sparred with him not long ago. And from the sounds of it he'd just had the worst week of his life." Furi added "But I wouldn't have known if I hadn't heard from others. Someone like that, making them angry is a bad idea. Because instead of making them sloppy, you make them focus on taking you out."

"Can we turn this off?" Nickole asked as they all grew sick of listening to the excessive analysis of Kobalt's fight. She couldn't remember who had the bright idea of turning on the news after they got back to the dorm room, but it was far from what she wanted to listen to.

"Yeah sorry." Tristan said as he flicked the remote and started searching for something else on. "Can't believe they got Jazz too."

"At least she said something nice." Justin added

"Frankly I'm surprised they didn't mention me melting their gear." Kobalt sighed "That's probably why they didn't try talking to us again."

"Can't believe I'm the one asking this," Amber started "But are you going to be alright Kobalt?"

Nickole still wasn't sure if Amber fully understood what they had told her, Nickole barely understood it in the first place. But Amber was certainly smarter than her boyfriend, at the very least she didn't need them to repeat themselves.

"You want me to do the whole 'three guess' joke?" Kobalt asked her

"Fair enough." Amber said

Nickole decided it was better to keep it to herself, but she was sure that even if 'no' had been the answer to all three of those guess it wouldn't be close enough. There was no way in the winds Kobalt was alright, after what he had just been through he couldn't even be close to okay. She was almost against letting him fight in the final round of the tournament. But at the same time she couldn't take away the chance at winning after learning how long he'd wanted to fight in it. Still there had to be something she could do, as things stood right now she had barely done anything earlier. She didn't even know **what** to do if Kobalt ever started to lose control over his other half like that again.

Almost subconsciously Nickole pulled out her scroll, and loaded Mrs. Ward's number into her messenger list.

 _Mrs. Ward? It's Nickole, sorry to be messaging you like this but I think it's obvious we need to do something to help Kobalt after what happened earlier. Could you send me the entire report that psychologist made? I was hoping it would help me learn more about what he must be dealing with._

It barely took all that long for Mrs. Ward to respond, but it was clear within seconds that Mrs. Ward had been thinking the same thing.

 **I already went through the whole report, but I'll send it to you anyway, maybe you'll find something I didn't. It's clearly more than Black Knight knew about though, they thought it was just another personality. I think some time off might help him, somewhere quiet where he can gather his thoughts.**

 _Like where?_ Nickole asked over the texts, what place could possibly be safe and quiet enough with Black Knight after him?

 **Atlas**. Mrs. Ward responded. **I didn't like the idea at first, but my father mentioned he'd like to spend some time with Kobalt now that he's come home. It's almost surreal how peaceful my father's home is, and it's inside the military district in central Atlas.**

 _You think that will help?_

 **Honestly, I'm not sure. But I don't know if there is much we can do, Marek has been pouring over his family's history trying to find something and even he's coming up empty handed. Perhaps with some solitude Kobalt can figure out what to do himself.**

 _But how much solitude will he get with his grandfather?_

 **You'd be surprised. And with the break coming up maybe it's the right time for him to visit Atlas.**

Nickole wasn't convinced, after everything he had been through Nickole wasn't sure how well Kobalt would handle things alone. And she hated the thought of just abandoning him to go to Atlas alone, after the way she treated him in her own home she didn't want him to feel on his own again.

 _I'm not sure  
_ _But it is your father and your son. It's your call._

 **That's not true and you know it. You mean a lot to him, and you've been through a lot with him. You probably know more about what's happened to him than I do. So if anything it's as much your call as mine.**

Nickole was shocked, she almost couldn't even respond to the message. She never imagined Kobalt's mother would so quickly accept her. Kobalt had said as much, but it was still absolutely amazing that it was true. But at the same time, the fact that Kobalt had been right sparked a realization in her.

 _It's not up to either of us actually, it's up to Kobalt. If he thinks going to Atlas will help then he should._

 **You've got a point, I'll talk to him about it after the tournament is over. Keep an eye on him for me okay?**

 _Always._

Nickole barely realized how long she'd been texting Mrs. Ward until she put her scroll back in her purse and saw everyone was watching some cheesy movie now instead of the news.

"Who were you talking to?" Kobalt asked, noticing she had been texting the whole time.

"Hm, oh just uh, my mom." Nickole lied, saying the first thing that popped into her head.

A/N

Hey I'm alive! Hope everyone had/is still having an enjoyable winter holiday. My was great once I recovered from the flu in time for the family party.  
By the way, I have a new request for readers specifically for this chapter. I noticed something weird going on with the text when I posted it, but when I looked back over there was nothing. If you saw something weird on this chapter please let me know.

Moving on from that, this chapter wound up really long, at first it was just Kobalt's fight. But I really wanted Kobalt to just flatten Luna outright for a multitude of reasons. Chief among them being his reaction to what she says. I found the best way to do that was to have him end the fight in seconds, but that led to there not being an enjoyable fight scene in this chapter. Enter Furi, who is rapidly becoming one of my favorite side characters.

Also say to everyone Sterling. Another character I've been meaning to get to for some time now, he's fun. Him and Kobalt are going to have an interesting time once I get to the individual character development after the tournament. It's something I'm looking forward to getting to, we haven't seen how any of the our characters are when they're not part of a team. I think it will be a lot of fun.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it.


	38. Chapter 38: Brief Sensibility

"You think he'll be okay?" Amber asked Tristan as they walked through the fairgrounds.

"That's a good question." Tristan sighed, trying to figure out how to answer "If you had asked me a month ago I'd have said yes, a week ago maybe. But now? I don't know."

"What happened a week ago?" Amber raised an eyebrow, reminding Tristan that he hadn't told her about their mission.

"You know how we had our first sanctioned mission after the dance?" he whispered "Well it was to another 'BK' base."

"Oh gods what happened?"

"An old friend of Kobalt's was there, she didn't make it." Tristan told her "Apparently she was his only friend back when he was still with them."

"And how did he handle that?" she asked him

"Not well, melted a crater in the ground when it happened. Then he raced off to Patch to bury her." Tristan went on "And when we got back here he snuck out later that night. I woke up and was about to go find him when I noticed Nickole saw he was gone too. But by the time she reached the door he was back."

"And now on top of all that he's got to deal with this too." Amber sighed, "No wonder Nickole is freaking out."

"Yeah tell me about it, I'm surprised Kobalt still hasn't caught on." He nearly laughed "I swear the guy is perceptive on anything but her."

"Really? I thought-"

"Hey Tristan!" a girls voice rang out behind them.

"Wow, they're getting bold." Amber growled "You've never been bothered with me before."

"Yeah tell me about…" Tristan sighed as he turned his head "Oh, relax it's just Jazz. She doesn't hit on me."

"Really?"

"Tristan, how's Kobalt doing?" Jazz asked, catching her breath as she stopped her run directly in front of the two. "I figure he's not in a good mood about the analysis the other day."

"He's managing." Tristan told her, not technically lying "He's not really bothered by the analysis."

"Yeah I didn't think he would be." Jazz added "But after every other comment I heard outside the newsstand I figured he could use some support."

"Yeah it was nice of you to say that." Amber weighed in, and Tristan was surprised not to hear a harsh undertone as she spoke.

"You must be Tristan's girlfriend." Jazz realized "I'm Jasmine, nice to finally meet you. Get this one going and he doesn't shut up about you."

"Really?" Amber asked, flashing a wicked grin at Tristan "And do tell, what is it he says?"

"Well between what he says and meeting you now, it's no wonder he doesn't give any of the girls the time of day." Jazz laughed "Better hold on to her Tristan."

But then something strange happened, Jasmine Gale turned serious.

"So are you going to tell me how Kobalt's really doing or not?" Jazz asked "Because I know 'managing' isn't what you'd tell me if he was okay."

"Jazz you know I can't tell you how-"

"Why not? I already know about his amnesia, that he reunited with his mother here, and I was there when his dad barged in out of his mind." Jazz nearly yelled, getting the attention of a few people passing by. "Come on, after all that can you really say I'm out of the loop on this stuff?"

"Yes actually I can." Tristan said immediately

"And you won't fill me in will you?" she asked, Tristan merely nodded "Why, he's my friend too, and it's not like he's part of some Atlas secret project."

Tristan bit the inside of his cheek as he prepared to tell her no, but the moment of hesitation was all the answer she needed.

"Oh my god." Jazz gasped as her eyes went wide "He is, isn't he?! That's why you never tell us about his past isn't it? Is that why he's so strong, how long have you know, did he lose his memory on some mission or-"

"Jazz would you shut up." Tristan whispered angrily "You're making a scene."

Jazz looked around to see what Tristan had noticed while she had been asking so many questions, there were more than a few people looking their way now. Jazz had always been a bit loud, and because of that she hadn't realized their conversation was no longer private.

"Follow me." Tristan sighed as he led the way to somewhere less populated. But with no matches going on, the fairgrounds were completely covered in people. The one empty stall he found had no one working behind the counter, Tristan looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone nearby and pulled out the stools on the side with their back to the edge of the fairgrounds.

"I'm digging all the cloak and dagger." Jazz said, far more excited than she should be.

"Jazz this isn't a game." Tristan told her "You know that seriousness you were showing when you were asking if Kobalt was okay? Well try and find that again."

"Is it that bad?" she asked

"What do you think?" Tristan countered "And for the record, he's not part of anything from Atlas."

"So what's his deal then?" Jazz asked

"His 'deal' is he's freaking complicated as hell. Remember all those things you said about him in the interview?" Tristan started "Well you're right, but if we hadn't been there to find out who he was I'm not sure he would've told us."

"So it is that bad." Jazz sighed

"It's just the tip of the iceberg," Tristan went on "You think we were really doing special training with Professor Midori that whole time? We were laying low to keep him safe."

"Tristan are you sure you should be saying even this much?" Amber asked him

"Wait, do you know Amber?" Jazz asked her.

"Yeah, Nickole needed someone to talk to about her end of the whole thing." Amber said "She's been freaking out fairly bad since they all found out. Honestly, I wish I didn't know."

"So are you going to stop dancing around the question or are you going to tell me?" Jazz asked "What is going on?"

"Kobalt didn't used to fight **for** the kingdoms." Tristan told her "He didn't know it at the time, but he was working for people who you don't want to mess with."

"And that's all you should probably tell her." Amber added

"And why's that?" Jazz asked

"Because you're not as good at keeping secrets as you thinks you are." Amber said "If you were, you would've pretended to be interested in Tristan even with me here."

"What the Dust are you talking about?" Tristan asked

"See I had him fooled." Jazz argued

"And he can be more than a bit clueless at times." Amber countered "Jazz isn't interested in you the same way she's not interested in any other guys. At all."

"Wait, Jazz are you…" Tristan stammered as he came to the realization of what Amber was saying. Before he could compose himself and finish his sentence, Jazz's scroll went off.

"Oh thank god," She whispered before answering it "Dore? Yeah of course were still on for tonight, okay, see you then."

"You know, a simple yes would've sufficed." Tristan said as Jazz hung up. "I don't get it, why would you hide that from anyone?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe because every single girl in school is pining for you." Jazz scoffed "Literally every single one, kinda makes their stance on sexuality clear. I thought I stood a chance with Nickole before I realized she had a thing for Kobalt instead."

"But Dore…" Tristan started

"Ended up 're-evaluating' herself after she stopped acting like she was." Jazz cut him off "That included a few other aspects of her life she wound up talking to her team leader, me, about."

"How long ago did this happen?" Tristan asked

"Like I said since she stopped acting like a priss, please don't tell her I said that." Jazz added as it dawned on her just what she had said. "It took months of talking to get her this far, and she's pretty nervous."

"Hence the phone call." Amber gathered

"Yeah, she's never been on a date before." Jazz said "Let alone with another girl."

"Well we'd hate to keep you." Tristan said, no so subtly trying to get rid of Jazz "You should probably start getting ready for said date."

"Oh no you don't, you're not switching the gears that easily." Jazz countered "I've still got a few questions."

"And I'll give you the same answer." Tristan told her "Silence."

"Fine I'll just ask Kobalt myself." Jazz reasoned. "I know I don't act like it, but I care about my friends too."

"Okay go ahead, just wait until after the tournament." Tristan sighed "Trust me, it's best if he doesn't talk much about it in the meantime."

"Why's that?"

"You want him to win the tournament don't you?" Amber asked "Well from what I've seen that won't happen if he's thinking about his past out there."

"Remember you're duel with him?" Tristan asked "He was worried about Nickole the whole time, imagine him worrying about his past."

"Unbelievable, since when did you become a reasonable person?" Jazz asked him

"Well he likes to put on a show for his better half." Amber countered

"Alright fine." Jazz sighed "Just, let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"I will." Tristan said as Jazz stood up and walked away.

"As soon as there's something **I** can do to help." He added once she was gone.

"Hey you've done a lot already haven't you?" Amber asked

"Not really no, all I've done is occasionally get him to talk about stuff." Tristan admitted pushing himself up from his stool.

"Hey that helps." Amber reasoned, quickly following him off the fairgrounds.

"He's not exactly a closed off person, and lately the guy all but wears his emotions on his sleeve." He told her "One time he kept how he was doing secret from us, and it took me less than a minute to make him talk."

"Then what do you think needs to happen?" She asked him "Because someone needs to do something, hell after seeing what happened to him yesterday I want to help."

"Well I'm sure he'd appreciate the offer," Tristan chuckled "But if I know my two friends, Kobalt's already got an angel on his shoulder."

"You know that implies he's got a devil on the other one." Amber said

"I don't know about a devil, but the guy certainly has his demons." He sighed "And I hate myself for saying this, but I think we need to let Nickole handle things for a bit."

"Think she can?"

"She's been the only one to calm him down when he freaks out, so yeah." Tristan added "She can handle this, even if she's not so sure herself."

_  
A/N  
Short chapter this week sorry, in fact this is probably my shortest chapter ever. And I'm not proud of that.  
I mostly felt like I needed to give a quick look into Tristan's reaction to his best friends latest issues, that and I need a bit more time to work on the final round of the tournament.  
So I guess Tristan went from being a plot device to filler a little bit in this chapter.

Again sorry, but I'll make up for it with 39. It's big, real big. And has my favorite fight scene in all of KNGT. So far at least.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it.


	39. Chapter 39: Fire and Fury

Kobalt focused on the image in his mind, the image of the hill and its pale yellow grass. Of the rolling plains and the ocean in the far distance, of the stone circle and his sword impaled into it. He poured every ounce of focus he had into that image, his mind set on making it a reality, on seeing it once again. And when he opened his eyes, there it was in front of him, plains stretching out as far as he could see. He knelt down, pressing his hand to the ground. The grass parted around it and the dirt beneath felt cold and real. He had returned, this time of his own will. Kobalt looked into the distance, the sun was setting on the horizon and light began to fade from the world.

"Hmph, didn't think I'd see you again so soon." A voice scoffed behind him.

Kobalt rose and turned around to see the other him, the dark half of his mind and soul. But unlike the last time, he felt nothing coming from his darker side. No anger, no hate, no emotion whatsoever. He wasn't sure how long he stood there, staring into eyes that shone with no light. But eventually he remembered what all this was for.

"Alright I'm only going to say this once." Kobalt started "If you even think about messing up the final round I—"

 _Kobalt?_ A girl's voice called out from the sky, _you okay?_

Before he could even react he felt the world around him dissolve, melting back into darkness as he lost his connection to whatever it was he was connected to. When he opened his eyes again he saw Nickole's worried face hanging in front of him, she had been gently pushing his shoulder trying to get him to answer. Out behind her was the beautiful view of Mistral he had from the edge of his family's backyard. With the final round coming up Kobalt was grateful for the peace and quiet of his family's home. And equally grateful Nickole had come back with him despite her legs still being in a cast.

"Hey you okay?" She asked him, backing up on her crutches to give him some room. "You've been sitting here, well I want to say 'meditating' for a while."

"I'm fine," Kobalt said standing up "Meditating is appropriate, I was trying to find some way of talking to the 'other me'."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Nickole asked "He doesn't sound like a reasonable person if he just takes control of you."

"Don't have a lot of other options for dealing with him right now." Kobalt told her "Besides, he only seems to lash out when were both angry about something. I'm pretty calm right now."

"Still…" Nickole trailed off.

"I get it, but with the final round coming up I wanted to make sure nothing happened." Kobalt admitted "I'd like a clean match, not one where I'm fighting two people at once."

"The tournament that's right!" Nickole exclaimed "That's what I came out here for, you were sitting here so long I figured you forgot to check the time."

"Oh no, how long until—"

"Still half an hour." Nickole cut him off, "You've got time."

"Plenty of time to help you get there too then." He added with a smile "I'm not letting you miss this one."

"You better not, where's the nearest air taxi?" she asked

"I've got a better idea than that." Kobalt grinned before looking up at the balcony to see his father leaning against it pretending not to listen in. "Hey dad, care to give us a lift to the Colosseum?"

Kobalt took far too much delight watching his father wrestle with the decision he was now faced with. He could either admit he was listening in on them and give them a ride, or he could pretend not to and miss a chance to speak with his son. In the few days since the doubles round, Kobalt had done his best to listen to Nickole and ease up on his father. Ease up being a relative term, he was still pretty pissed about the years of neglect the man had given his own family and the eight years he had left his mother on her own. But compared how things had been when he first came back, Kobalt figured it was a bit of an improvement.

"I'll go grab my keys." Marek shook his head, a thin smile on his face. He must've been aware his son was intentionally messing with him. He disappeared from sight as he went to search for the keys to the family's airship.

"Come on, getting you to the garage will be the easy part of tonight." Kobalt chuckled

"Hey I've got much better balance on these things than the past couple of days." Nickole countered

"How well can you handle stairs?" he asked her

"Okay fine, but don't think this makes us even."

"For what?" Kobalt asked her, of course the second he said that he nearly slapped himself for saying it.

"Oh I don't know, maybe the whole helping get your memory back thing." Nickole hummed "Or maybe that time my family sorta saved your life, oh and then there's all the times I've been there for you when things go south."

"Yeah, I need to learn not to open my mouth." He sighed, Nickole just laughed and nodded as he helped her up the stairs and eventually into the garage. By then his father had gotten the airship's ramp down for them and Kobalt strapped Nickole into her seat. The garage's roof opened up and Kobalt's father took the airship up and into the sky.

"So how the hell did you—" Kobalt started

"Get a garage to keep this thing in?" His father finished for him

"I was going to say get permission to keep an airship in the first place." Kobalt corrected

"Do you know how many people our family saved back in the war?" Marek asked his son "Well most of them had kids, and a few of their kids happen to be on the council. Of course if this thing had any weapons I'd be in trouble."

"If we're so famous why didn't I hear anything about our family before I got back?" he asked

"Famous is the wrong word. The Gareth's are famous across Remnant." Marek told him "The Wards are well known by Huntsmen, but it's in Mistral that people recognize the name."

"Makes sense, my family is all over the world." Nickole spoke up "We have outposts on each continent."

"Meanwhile there aren't even enough Wards left to make one outpost." Kobalt's father went on "Closest thing we have is the old family home up north. Not counting the two of us, there are only a couple dozen Wards still around."

"Mom doesn't count?" Kobalt asked

"Unfortunately no, I told her she could be too. All she had to do was ask, and wear our armor." He sighed "But I think she prefers the more relaxed life of a teacher."

"All of you wear the same armor?" Nickole asked

"Yeah, or at least similar variants of it." Marek said reaching down to his own helmet. He tossed it over his shoulder to Kobalt. "I'm sure you've noticed a few similarities between Kobalt's armor and my own, most of ours is a little less advanced. Then there are our helmets."

As Kobalt caught the helmet he saw what his father was talking about, it looked startlingly like his own helmet. Though his father's might've been a bit wider and more decorative, the basic features were still there right down to the T shaped visor. That couldn't be a coincidence, but all Kobalt could remember was that he had been wearing this armor for the past six years, constantly resizing it to fit.

"They must've let you have some input when it was being made huh?" His father suggested, likely noticing the uncertainty on Kobalt's face.

"Must've." He shrugged, tossing his father's helmet back.

"Well combine that look with the name 'Ward' and most people in Mistral will pick up on who you are." Marek smiled "Get ready, were almost there."

Kobalt peeked over his father and through the window, rapidly approaching was Amity Colosseum. The mere sight of it and the scores of people walking to their seats make Kobalt's heart run a beat faster.

 _This is it_ , he thought. _Final round, after all these years._

The other night his mother had shown him a picture of the two of them watching the final match ages ago. Instantly his mind flashed back to the exact day, and the excitement he felt hearing the finalists being called down to the arena. He had turned to his mother back then and sworn he'd be one of those finalist someday. And part of him could hardly believe that it was actually happening, it was weird he hadn't really doubted himself or his chances in the tournament. And yet at the same time it seemed part of him was still that little kid, still Gallin Ward, and unable to believe how far he'd come. And seeing the crowds of people arriving just to watch him and the other finalist fight drove him nuts. Everyone coming here knew both his and Furi's names, most of them had probably seen them in the previous rounds, and some had probably watched the recap special the other night. Kobalt was particularly glad that he hadn't taken the air taxi, he probably would've been hounded the whole ride. As it stood he expected to be swarmed the second he got out of his father's airship. But as it descended onto a small platform for private vehicles, Kobalt didn't see anyone giving the ship a second glance. His father lowered the ramp and waited behind as Kobalt helped Nickole down and out.

"Your mother's probably already in the stands somewhere." Marek said as the ramp folded back up into the ship "I should go find her."

His father began to walk away almost instantly, but before he took off he turned back around to face Kobalt with a huge smile on his face.

"Be sure to make her proud." he winked before disappearing in a flash of red light. Kobalt caught a multitude of the same flash pop up across the deck before he saw his father entering the Mistral side of the stands.

Kobalt smiled as he started walking with Nickole towards the Vale side of the colosseum, to his surprise no one stopped to talk to him or anything. A lot of people stopped in their tracks and pulled out their scrolls, probably to take pictures, and just as many were clearing the way for the two of them to get through faster.

"This still that sports superstition thing you mentioned?" Kobalt whispered to Nickole as even more people moved aside for them.

"I think it's more 'holy shit that's one of the finalists' this time." Nickole chuckled "They're taking pictures for crying out loud."

"Course they are." A familiar voice rang out, Kobalt looked up to see Tristan, Amber, and Justin waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"This is the guy who's about to make second in the Vytal Festival Tournament." Tristan finished with a grin.

"We'll take Nickole from here, already got a nice seat for her and everything." Amber said "You should start getting ready."

"She's right Kobalt." Nickole agreed, "Not much time left."

"Alright, Amber I'm trusting her to you." Kobalt nodded, turning back to the group.

"Hang on." Nickole stopped him before he could leave. She pulled him in close and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Good luck."

"That's all the luck I get?" Kobalt chuckled

"Oh if you want more you've got to come back a winner." Nickole smiled before shuffling away on her crutches.

"That's all the incentive I need." He smiled back before he turned around and walked down the stairs to the arena floor.

After a short time waiting Kobalt found himself pacing around the locker room in anticipation. His nervousness was driving him crazy, making every second drag on forever. He stopped himself from pacing further and sat down on a bench to check his gear. His armor was fine same with his sword, Arondight. There was hardly so much as a nick on them, even after all these years. His pistol, Lucida he decided to name it, was a whole other thing entirely. He quickly cleaned the barrel and re-assembled the pistol while waiting. It was a good thing he had learned how to field strip a weapon way back. Black Knight used to clean and maintain all of his gear. Kobalt forced that thought out of his head, it was not the subject he wanted on his mind before going into the finals. Especially given who his opponent was. Furi was not someone Kobalt should be taking lightly, he had a feeling that Professor Midori's son had more natural talent than anyone Kobalt had ever met. He knew throughout the entirety of their first duel that Furi was holding back at least as much as Kobalt had been. It was as though he only used his semblance to increase his strength to see if it was possible. And out there, in the arena, Furi would not be holding anything back. Which meant Kobalt couldn't afford to either.

"Kobalt." a woman's voice rang out next to him. He hadn't even realized someone else was in the room with him. He quickly turned to see Professor Goodwitch standing off to his side, scroll in hand.

"Are you ready?" she asked her tone surprisingly soft, a strange turn from her usual business like personality.

"I think so." Kobalt said taking a deep breath and standing up. He followed Professor Goodwitch out of the locker room and to the hallway that led the arena.

"I've been out there myself you know." She said, switching back to her usual business tone. "If you care to hear it, there is some advice I'm prepared to give you."

"I think I'm good, but thanks." Kobalt smiled as he followed her down. They stopped in the doorway just before arena floor, and Kobalt could feel the sheer number of people in the stands. He couldn't tell who was more excited, him or all the spectators waiting for everything to begin. Kobalt felt himself nearly start shaking in anticipation, there was hardly any build up at all and yet he felt like he'd been waiting an eternity. What finally sped things back up was when he looked across the arena to the other side's entryway. There he saw Furi, standing next to his mother. It made sense, if Professor Goodwitch was standing with Kobalt then it was only fitting that Kobalt's mother be with Furi. He looked ready, confident, and stronger than ever before. Kobalt was sure if he felt the same, confident maybe but ready? He wasn't sure if he could be ready for this, he had been dreaming of this day since he was still Gallin Ward. And now that it was here he didn't know what to think.

"Very well, this is where I take my leave." Goodwitch said, walking back down the hallway.

"You know what, I changed my mind." Kobalt said quickly before she left. "What's your advice?"

The Professor turned back to Kobalt with an extremely uncharacteristic smirk on her face.

"Don't lose." She simply said before turning back around and continuing down the hallway. Kobalt laughed and shook his head in disbelief before taking a step forward, a huge smile on his face.

The moment his foot crossed the threshold of the arena a pair of spotlights centered on Kobalt, nearly blinding him. He heard the crowd erupt and as his eyes adjusted looked around to see everyone in the stands going absolutely crazy. It was like the first round of the tournament times a thousand, Kobalt couldn't believe what he was hearing. Cheering, chanting, some people were even waving signs with everything from the names of the finalists to the school crests. And as much as he would've liked to keep a straight face, Kobalt couldn't help but crack a smile as he walked towards the center of the arena. He knew that there were people out there cheering for him, not only his team but most of the students from Beacon. And if what Tristan had told him a lot of people from Atlas were included as well. Frankly he couldn't imagine why, his best guess was that since Furi had taken out Atlas's last contestant they all wanted Kobalt to avenge their classmate. But Tristan had known about his Atlas fans before the single rounds even started.

 _Oh well,_ he thought as he reached the center of the arena. _Not like it matters._

Kobalt pushed all other thoughts out of his head as he saw Furi standing mere feet away from him. Blue eyes locked with green, and Kobalt could tell Furi was at least as excited as he was, if not more.

"Hell of a stage for our rematch huh?" Furi asked, breaking the stare to look out into the stands.

"Yeah tell me about, were even floating in the air for his one." Kobalt shrugged, "I think we'll be fine though, unless of course you have stage fright."

"You wish." Furi scoffed but then the look on his face shifted. "You know I bet your mom's in the stands somewhere by now. She said she wouldn't pick a side in this match, but I think we both know she's rooting for you."

"Maybe," Kobalt sighed "But I think there's someone on my side of the stands rooting for you."

"Oh?" Furi laughed in disbelief "Who would that be?"

"Your dad." Kobalt smiled, and as the look on Furi's face darkened Kobalt realized his mistake.

"Sorry, I get how you feel." Kobalt said putting his hands up "But you can't honestly believe he doesn't care about you."

"You think so?" Furi asked, his face softening ever so slightly.

"Since when do good parents not care about their kids?" Kobalt countered "Just be glad your dad was around, even if it meant living in his shadow."

"Yours wasn't?" Furi's eyes got wide as Kobalt shook his head. "Professor Ward never said."

"I can't imagine she would've." Kobalt smiled "My mom tends to only see the good in people, so let's do her a favor and not show her anything less than our best."

"Deal." Furi nodded.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Headmaster Leandros' voice boomed in over the speakers "As the host of the 38th Vytal Festival, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to the final round of the Tournament!"

If the crowd was going crazy before, they absolutely lost it when the Headmaster's voice came on. The volume in the crowd shot up incredibly and Leandros had to wait for them to calm down before starting back up again.

"I'm sure you all know their names by now, but allow this old man the honor of introducing them one last time." Leandros continued "On one side, clad in black and blue, we have Kobalt Ward of Beacon Academy!"

Feeling as though he ought to do something, Kobalt drew his sword and raised it high in the air. When the crowd began chanting his name, he didn't even bother to hide the huge grin that spread across his face.

"And on the other side, wearing grey and green, we have Furi Midori of Haven Academy!" Leandros roared, the pride in his student clear as day. Mimicking Kobalt, Furi drew his sword holding it horizontally at his side.

"This is it people, the stage is set, the contestants are ready." The Headmaster added, bringing his introductions to an end. "Let the final round of the Vytal Festival Tournament begin, NOW!"

For the beginning of the final round, it was surprisingly quiet. Kobalt slowly walked forward to the dead center of the ring, the same as Furi. Together they reached the middle of the ring and simply stared at each other, Furi almost seemed like he was waiting for Kobalt to make the first move. But something felt off to Kobalt, there was something out of place.

"Hang on, there's something we're forgetting here." Kobalt spoke up, breaking the silence of the colosseum.

"You think? I thought it was pretty simple, we're here, we fight, and someone wins." Furi raised an eyebrow.

"No not that." Kobalt told him as he flipped the grip on his sword and drove it into the ground. His hand now free, he held it out to Furi. "Best of luck to you, Furi Midori."

The look on Furi's face alone would've been enough for Kobalt. The shock of seeing his opponent lay down his sword and wish him luck was proof he hadn't even remotely been expecting it. But to make things even better, Furi did the same. Driving his own sword into the ground he reached out and shook Kobalt's hand.

"The same to you, Kobalt Ward." Furi nodded.

The second their hands separated, the battle truly began. Kobalt grabbed his sword and spun, intent on bringing it down upon Furi. But his opponent kicked his own blade up and caught it, blocking the strike before it had a chance to land. Kobalt dropped one hand and punched Furi in the gut, sending him flying backwards. He quickly recovered and rushed back at Kobalt, his blade flashing from the left as he struck. Kobalt blocked the attack with Arondight and rotated as he brought his elbow up to strike Furi's face. But to his surprise Furi caught the attack with his other hand and grabbed onto Kobalt's arm as he jumped up and kicked Kobalt in the back. Kobalt blasted the ground between them as he fell forwards before Furi could continue his attack. He rolled out of the fall and drew his pistol as he came out of it. A quick burst of fire gave him time to rise to his feet and charge back in, and he raked his blade across Furi's exposed chest as his foe tried to dodge the rounds. Furi slid on the ground before pushing himself to his feet just as Kobalt descended on him again, this time driving Arondight into the ground where Furi had been moments before. Pushing himself to stay on the offensive, Kobalt pulled his sword out and pressed what little advantage he had. He hacked away at Furi, despite failing to land a hit as his opponent avoided most of the attacks by a hair's width.

As Kobalt prepared to draw his pistol once more, he heard a familiar hum followed by a bright light in the corner of his vision. He ducked his head just as Furi's blade thrust towards where it had just been, coated green and arcing lightning. Furi brought the blade down and Kobalt angled a barrier to deflect the strike. It worked, but the impact on his barrier knocked him to the ground. He quickly pushed himself to his feet, aiming a thrust at Furi's chest as he rose. But his opponent unhooked the sheath from his belt and brought it up to block the attack. As Kobalt pulled his blade back and prepared another attack, Furi sheathed his blade in an instant and reached up to a pouch on his harness. He quickly dropped a small pellet, the second it hit the floor smoke exploded out of it so fast Kobalt was nearly taken off guard. He quickly leapt back to the edge of the arena and charged his blade full of energy. Hoping Furi had no way of seeing through the smoke as well, Kobalt swung his sword releasing the built up energy in a shockwave that cut through the smoke causing it to dissipate. But it was stopped halfway through the cloud by another shockwave, a bright green wave of energy had met Kobalt's blue one in the center of the arena and for a brief moment the two waves appeared to be trying to push through one another before exploding in flash of blue and green light. Looking across the now cleared arena Kobalt could see a green glow beginning to fade on Furi's katana.

"You know, I had a feeling you were holding back last time." Furi grinned across the way.

"And I had a feeling you'd try something a bit less flashy after popping that smoke bomb." Kobalt smiled.

"I guess that's the difference between me and my father." Furi smirked as he rushed forward and locked blades with Kobalt "I like being flashy."

"Well that makes two of us." Kobalt told him as he coated his sword in blue flames and pushed Furi back, giving himself enough space to get away from the edge. He slowly walked forwards, taking a deep breath and trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. Furi still had a smirk on his face as Kobalt got within a few feet of him, the two back in the center of the arena. But as Kobalt stopped the smile faded and Furi took a deep breath. As he exhaled his blade began to crackle with plasma as it began to glow an even brighter green than before.

"I suppose I should thank you." Furi sighed as he settled into an offensive stance. "I took the training you gave me to heart."

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Kobalt told him "After all, I'm all warmed up now."

Blasting himself forwards Kobalt drove Arondight straight for Furi's face. Furi's eyes went wide as he was momentarily caught off guard, barely managing to twist his head around the attack. But Kobalt dropped the blade down, raking it across Furi's shoulder and rotating to slash at Furi's leg. Though he managed to land two direct hits, in his haste to attack he missed Furi bring his blade out from the side. It carved into Kobalt's face and tore into his Aura, leaving him reeling long enough for Furi to slice upwards and knock Kobalt backwards. As Kobalt righted himself before he crashed to the floor his free hand reached up to his face. And with it came a startling realization; that had hurt. It wasn't just pain the slipped through his Aura, it was real pain. When he pulled his hand away he half expected to see a trace of blood on it, of course there hadn't been but Kobalt was sure Furi's strike had cut right across the scar on his face. As the pain flooded through his system it sparked something in him, and brief flashes of his past erupted in his mind. Scenes of the most dangerous missions he had been sent on, surrounded by Grimm, gunshot wounds in his gut, blood on the snow. Each scene a memory related to the same thing that now sparked inside him. An almost primal desire to retaliate, to push himself further than ever before, to ensure his own survival. He chuckled briefly as he felt his new strength flood his body and overwrite the pain, Furi might've just sealed his own fate.

Sensing some kind of hesitation, Furi rushed forward thrusting his sword towards Kobalt with both hands. With the rush of adrenaline and Dust knows what else pumping through his veins, Kobalt dropped Arondight to the ground and caught Furi's blade with both hands, ignoring the pain in his fingers as the edge cut into them.

"Forget warmed up!" Kobalt laughed as a huge grin spread across his face. "Now I'm fired up!"

Furi tried almost desperately to free his sword and get away from him, but Kobalt tightened his grip on the blade with one hand while the other released and curled it into a fist. As Furi's eyes drifted up from his blade to Kobalt's face, they widened just before the impact of the punch Kobalt had wound up. Hitting him square in the nose Furi went flying backwards. Kobalt quickly kicked his blade up to his hand and rushed forward, slicing down onto Furi before he even hit the ground. As Furi got back up Kobalt was on him again, unleashing a devastating series of attacks that Furi couldn't even keep up with. He was certain he had Furi on the ropes now, it would only be a matter of seconds before Furi wouldn't be able to keep up what little defense he was still managing.

 _One second_

Kobalt brought Arondight in on Furi's side, it glanced off his blade as he barely got it up in time to deflect the blow. Reeling from the attack and wide open, Kobalt drew his pistol and quickly fired a single shot at Furi's center, making him bend over ever so slightly.

 _Two seconds_

With Furi's head now mere inches closer Kobalt forwent attacking with the blade directly, and landed another solid punch with his sword hand. Connecting briefly with Furi's jaw Kobalt then carved Arondight down Furi's chest and knocked his sword arm away.

 _Three seconds_

Furi's chest now completely open, Kobalt pivoted and slashed three times, leaving a trace of his energy along Furi's chest in the triangle pattern he just carved. A strategy he began theorizing in his duel with Leandros, without using his semblance he had only practiced the blade part of the attack. But as he charged his sword with energy and prepared the bit he left on Furi for detonation he felt confident it would be enough to end this.

 _Four_

The world exploded in a flash of green in front of Kobalt, blinding him as he thrust wildly with his blade. But instead of feeling his own sword make contact with Furi's chest, he felt another blade connect to his center. It knocked the wind out of him and pushed him so far back he was almost positive he'd have gone flying off the arena if he was airborne. He looked up to see Furi retracting his blade from a thrust and raising it above his head in both hands. But Furi's new stance barely registered in Kobalt's mind, as his opponent was glowing bright green and crackling with lightning of the same color. But unlike the last time Furi had done this, it was visibly stable. The glow was maintaining strength across Furi's body, with the streak of green in his hair the only part glowing brighter than the rest. It even looked like Furi's eyes were glowing a brighter green than usual. Kobalt could feel the energy from where he stood, and was half impressed and half concerned. While it was clear that Furi had admirably mastered his own version of Kobalt's overdrive state, it only made the current situation worse for him.

As Kobalt allowed himself a moment to breathe, Furi decided to go on the offensive. Almost too fast for Kobalt to track, Furi rushed towards him winding his blade up for an attack. Kobalt's eyes went wide at the sheer difference in speed now that Furi had enhanced himself and rolled to avoid being cleaved in two. He came out of the roll and raised his sword to block while he was still partially on the ground. It was a good thing he had too, because at very moment Furi was swinging his blade down onto Kobalt. He grit his teeth as he pushed back against Furi with everything he had.

 _So this is what it feels like on the other end._ Kobalt mused as Furi disengaged and Kobalt pushed himself to his feet. Never before had Kobalt met someone who could boost their strength anywhere near as much as he could. And if his instincts were worth anything than he knew Furi was still just scratching the surface of his new strength. Kobalt raised his sword before him in both hands, trying to think of a strategy. His best chance might be to endure as long as possible, waiting for Furi to tire himself out. This was only his second time using his semblance this extensively, it was likely he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. But at the same time, if Furi had mastered it even half as much as Kobalt thought, he might not survive that long.

As if to hammer that point home, Furi dashed forward his blade descending on Kobalt rapidly. He brought Arondight up to block and the pair locked blades once again.

 _Option two it is then_. Kobalt thought

"I almost feel bad using this against you." Furi smiled, his voice calm as he and Kobalt pushed against one another. "But it's over, my overdrive is stronger than yours."

"Excellent, very impressive Furi." Kobalt grinned almost manically "I would've hated for people to say I won because you were holding back. But there's something you've missed."

For the briefest of seconds, doubt flashed across Furi's face. His smile dropped and his eyes widened as Kobalt spoke.

"I'm not in overdrive!" Kobalt roared as he poured his Aura into himself. He felt his strength increase even further as he exploded in bright blue flames and knocked Furi away from him. Kobalt didn't even need to look at his scroll to check, he knew doing that just cost him a huge chunk of Aura. But it was his best bet, he needed to close the power gap between him and Furi to stand a chance now.

Realizing his error, Furi vaulted back away from Kobalt. His eyes briefly drifted up towards the monitors, and he seemed to breathe more easily afterwards. He quickly sheathed his blade and tore it back out, sending a large wave of plasma flying towards Kobalt. Kobalt flipped over it, drawing his pistol in the air and firing it off as he landed back down. He took off running, still firing Lucida as he tried to close the distance. He used the time it took to get in close to focus. He needed a clean hit on Furi, his Aura was too low to risk using his semblance to finish things. And Furi would no doubt attack as Kobalt neared, at the very least he'd be able to block Kobalt's first move. And if either of those things happened there was no way Kobalt could land a hit without leaving himself wide open. Furi would capitalize on that and land a hit on him, either beating Kobalt or causing the match to end in a draw.

 _You know it's the strangest sensation whenever I draw my blade._ A voice echoed in Kobalt's head. Sable, it was something she said back in one of their training sessions.

 _I don't know how to explain it, I put some effort into but mostly it feels like I'm just grabbing onto something that's already there._ The memory went on. _I just short of reach out and trust that it will be there to take._

"Durandal." Kobalt whispered as his eyes widened in realization. As his pistol clicked empty he dropped it to the ground and picked up his pace. Furi raised his blade in anticipation and Kobalt's hold on Arondight tightened to the point where he was sure he'd crush the leather grip.

 _Just reach out for it, it_ _ **will**_ _be there._ Sable's voiced echoed in his mind as Kobalt flexed his left arm. He was just a step away from Furi now, and his right hand thrust out with Arondight as his left reached down past his hip. Furi's blade blocked Arondight, but as steel clanged against steel Kobalt felt resistance as he grabbed at the air with his left hand. Not wasting a second he tightened his grip and brought Durandal up from below, slicing diagonally across Furi's body as the blade came up. Furi reeled hard, and Kobalt turned his momentum into a spin, bringing both swords down across his opponent in one final attack. The last thing Kobalt heard was the sound of a buzzer going off before his own heartbeat drowned out everything else. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before he dared to look at the monitor.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you your 38th Vytal Festival Champion!" Leandros voiced roared back to life, as Kobalt opened his eyes and sound returned to him. "Kobalt Ward!"

There on the monitor directly above Kobalt was all the proof he needed, next to the portrait of him was his Aura meter barely a sliver above being disqualified. And to its left was Furi's, a sliver below.

As Leandros' words sunk in, the colosseum erupted in cheers and applause. If the audience was loud when he entered the arena, then Kobalt couldn't think of how to describe them now. His eyes scanned the arena, searching for faces he knew in the sea of people. Eventually he found the large group of Beacon students watching in the crowd, and dead in their center was his team. All of them clearly excited over his victory. Tristan and Amber were standing up, hollering his name while waving their arms in the air. And Justin, who usually had such a stoic expression on looked happy, his eyes closed and a light smile on his face.

But it was Nickole Kobalt focused on once he saw her. Even across the huge distance between them he could make her out clear as day, and when their eyes locked together Kobalt saw the smile break out across her face. It was that moment, that smile that made him truly realize; he just won.

A/N

And there you have it, the final round of the tournament. Honestly I wasn't sure if I wanted Kobalt to win, it felt like a cheesy thing to do, have your own character win the big tournament.  
But after all the stuff I've put Kobalt through so far, and all the things I have planned for the future, I figured he deserved a win. Also, is the chapter name too on the nose?

And boy was this fun to write, I really want to work on Furi's character bio now. Almost everything about him is merely hinted at, originally he just started off as a foil to Kobalt. But I have his character so fleshed out in my mind, and so many plans for him much much further down the line that I feel like he deserves one.  
I love the way this fight came out, in a lot of ways the two are very evenly matched. Even with all of Kobalt's training and enhancements from Black Knight, Furi's natural talent and raw power are enough to almost make him Kobalt's only equal.

Or at least his only equal close to his own age, I really need to get Black Knight back on the scene. Especially the Chairman, Dusk has got to be one of my favorite characters in KNGT. But I don't want everything to feel rushed, going right from the tournament to my plans for Black Knight wouldn't feel quite right yet with the way they will be coming back into the fold. So first we'll be going through some individual character arcs as the members of KNGT are separated for the school break. I've enjoyed writing it so far, so hopefully all of you will too.

And I'd like to take an extra second to thanks everyone who continues reading this story. It truly means a lot to me, I love being able to share this and even hearing tat only a single person likes this story is more than enough for me to keep going.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'll see you all next week.


	40. Chapter 40: Halcyon

Sweat poured from Kobalt's face as he dropped from the pull up bar and reached for a towel. Without thinking he wiped his face clean of sweat and instantly regretted it as pain seared across it. He reached a hand up to his face, nearly expecting his scar to have torn open and blood to flow out any second. It hadn't, but it certainly felt like it. It had been months since the bandages had been removed, and still at the slightest touch his newest scar flared with pain. The pain only increased as time went on and before he knew it Kobalt had dropped to his knees on the floor. He lashed out, violently slamming his fist into the ground as he felt his body surge the same way it had when his face had been nearly cleaved in two. He hadn't meant to, but he hit the floor so hard he left a crater twice the size of his chest in the ground.

"Still giving you trouble?" a voice called out in front of him. Kobalt looked up to see Sable standing in front of him, her usual outfit traded in for gym clothes the same as him and her hand held out. He grabbed onto her hand and she pulled him to his feet, partially ignoring the question she had just posed.

"It's all in your head you know." She added as Kobalt reached for a water bottle next to him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked gulping down most of the water.

"I looked into the tests the docs ran." Sable told him plainly "There's nothing that should be causing the pain you're experiencing. Unless it's all in your head, which makes sense given you."

"It's not in my head." Kobalt muttered turning away from her.

"Stubborn as always." Sable smiled, placing a hand on his cheek and turning his face back to her. Looking closely Kobalt could see a sadness behind that smile. "Even I can tell you're still freaking out from that mission. You went right back to training after you were cleared and that's not healthy, promise me you'll take a few days off."

"Alright fine." Kobalt sighed, "I'll take some time to chill out."

"See that wasn't so hard was it?" Sable smiled happily this time. It was practically infections, and Kobalt found himself smiling lightly himself. He didn't even realize when Sable removed the hand for his cheek and quickly rubbed it across his scar before he could react.

"See, it's all in your head." She added, crossing her arms with a smug expression on her face.

"I should've known that's what you were going for." Kobalt sighed slamming his palm against his face. She was right, still no pain. "How did you even find the test results?"

"How do you think?" she scoffed putting a hand on her hip.

"You really need to stop hacking into the database." Kobalt told her "You're going to get caught one of these days."

"Maybe if the Chairman ever decides to spring for better security I will." She laughed "It's almost sad how easy it is."

"The only reason he hasn't done anything yet is because you haven't gone after anything too big." Kobalt said before a thought crossed his head.

"Oh gods, I know that look." Sable sighed "What is it?"

"I'll make you a deal Sable." Kobalt began "If you can hack into the top tier encrypted files without being caught I won't say anything about it ever again."

"Are you crazy?" Sable chuckled "If I get caught then—"

"Then I'll tell the Chairman it was all part of my plan to get you to stop." He cut her off "Because if you do get caught then you stop hacking into the database all together."

"You think he'd let me off the hook because you asked him to?" Sable asked

"Of course, I'm sure he's sick of you breaking in anyway." Kobalt shrugged "Or are you chicken?"

"Really, you're going to goad me into it with that?" she shook her head

"I don't need to, when was the last time you turned down a challenge?" he added and extended his hand.

"Alright Kobalt, you're on." Sable turned serious as she shook on the deal.

Kobalt yawned as he woke from a nap in his seat on the small airship. Going to Atlas was probably a good idea, the solitude would give him time to figure things out. Still he was going to miss his friends, of course with more than a couple months off from school they were all probably heading home. Though the guys did live in Vale, and Nickole would probably have stayed in her family's outpost in the city if Kobalt was planning on staying in Vale himself. The idea was plenty tempting, but when his mother told Kobalt his grandfather wanted to meet him the thought of going to Atlas for a chance to gather his thoughts seemed like the responsible thing to do. That and it would be nice to actually meet his grandfather, his mother hadn't told Kobalt much about the man when he was growing up. And he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little excited by the prospect of meeting the world's foremost weapons engineer. Of course he was fine with what he had already, but maybe his grandfather could improve his gear further.

He looked out the window of the airship to see forests rushing past beneath him, it was certainly a better view than he was used to. Even if he was rather uncomfortable, the airship had taken him back to Beacon to pick up more of his things before taking him to Atlas. Despite how small it was it had enough room for him, his bag, and his motorcycle. Of course he wound up sitting on the bench his bike formed in its large crate next to the window. There was only a single seat left with how little room there was in the first place. The pilot has disassembled three just to get Kobalt's bike onboard. And Kobalt had given the seat to the other passenger.

"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer a real seat?" a voice asked next to him. Kobalt turned to face Eisen Faust, the old Huntsman had offered to see Kobalt to Vale then Atlas as he was heading to both as well. Figuring it would save him the trouble Kobalt agreed, at least this way his father didn't spend any more time away from home in an attempt to bond with Kobalt.

"I'm fine." Kobalt yawned, starching his arms and looking out the window again. "How long was I out?"

"Not long, we're still over mainland Sanus." Eisen told him "But not for long, we'll be setting down in one of Vale's colonies soon. From there it's a nice relaxing boat ride to Atlas."

"Colonies." Kobalt thought out loud, a name finally popping into his head as he saw the trees race by. "Halcyon."

"What was that?" Eisen asked

"We'll be passing over Halcyon soon won't we?" Kobalt asked the Huntsman

"Well not directly over it, but we'll be close yes." He nodded

"I need a favor. It won't take long but I need to stop there for a few minutes." Kobalt told him

"You've been there before haven't you?" Eisen asked, Kobalt simply nodded

"And I left something there too." he added

"It's overrun with Grimm. Are you sure?"

"I handled it once, I can do it again." Kobalt said looking back out the window. The memory of his short night there playing over and over in his head like a broken record.

"Very well, I'll speak with the pilot." Eisen said standing up from his seat. "He'll take quite a bit of convincing, there are reasons people don't go there anymore."

"Just give him this." Kobalt mumbled reaching into his pocket and tossing Eisen a large wad of lien. "And have him stay by the tall building on the western side of the colony. I'll be done in a few minutes."

Kobalt stood up as he felt the airship bank west slightly and stretched his arms. It was middle of the day so at the very least he wouldn't need to worry about Grimm sneaking up on him, still he should be on guard. He reached down and picked his helmet up off the ground, sliding it over his head he felt a sense of dread wash over him. This was far too much like the beginning of a mission with Black Knight. It was nearly putting him on edge, to say he didn't enjoy that feeling would've been an understatement. He did his best to picture the rest of KNGT standing next to him, they had only been on two real missions but their presence in each of them made Kobalt feel at ease. Or at least more than he would have if they weren't there.

 _You're not doing this for Black Knight_ , Kobalt's voice echoed in his head. _You have your own reason for being here._

He took a deep breath as he felt the airship descend towards the ground and Eisen came up behind him.

"You good to go?" he asked Kobalt, unable to see his face underneath the helmet.

"Fine." Kobalt spoke, feeling the seriousness in his own voice. This was already getting to be a problem, he needed to lighten up. So he forced his mind to focus on happier memories. Instantly the events of the past few days popped into his head, winning the tournament was high up on the list. But seeing Nickole's smile afterwards was even higher, and lifting her up and pressing his lips against hers once he left the arena was higher still. He hadn't even thought about what he was doing at first, he just acted on pure impulse and before he knew it a picture of the two had wound up on not only the news but apparently across the web. Kobalt had felt bad about it at first, but Nickole didn't seem to mind. In fact she almost seemed perfectly happy with his quick outburst of affection.

 _Let's go make some better memories._ Nickole's words popped into his head, bringing a smile to his face. With her help he had certainly succeeded in making more than a few.

"You're clear drop." Eisen added, bringing Kobalt back into focus. Kobalt turned towards the airships rear and hit a button off to his side, raising the bay doors to the view of a ruined colony. It hadn't crossed his mind how much different it would look without the darkness of the night, but the impact of such a ruined city hit him harder as he saw the full scope of the damage in the middle of the day. He never noticed the amount of fallen buildings and debris last time, but now it was much more obvious how much damage the colony had sustained. He was even able to pick out a few familiar bite marks in some of the buildings, but saw no sign of the giant snake that had attacked him last time.

"A shame, we still don't know exactly what happened here." Eisen sighed as he looked upon the ruins with Kobalt. "With its back to the ocean and the defenses on the eastern and western cliffs the only way to approach Halcyon by ground was from the southern road. And I'd never seen more secure defenses for a colony."

"Our reports indicated some kind of large snake like Grimm." Kobalt told him, not taking his eyes of the city as the airship settled over a building that still towered over the rest. "Stronger than most Grimm I've seen, and it drew even more into the area."

" _Our reports_?" Eisen asked raising an eyebrow.

"Black Knight's, sorry slipped back into old habits." Kobalt shrugged

"Sounded like you were one of my recon specialists for a second there actually." Eisen laughed "I don't suppose you'd be willing to join the Atlas military after Beacon?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." Kobalt said, though the idea didn't sound half bad to him. "Hold the ship here, I'll be back shortly."

Kobalt leapt out of the airship and drove his arm into the wall of the building behind him, slowing his fall. He hit the ground with a thud and drew Lucida from his hip, moving forward as soon as he saw the area around him was clear. He wasted no time at all finding his way back to the path his mission here took him on. He reached the side of a wide road and caught the familiar sight of a clinic on his right, smiling Kobalt pushed onwards following the road and keeping an eye out for fallen street signs.

But he stopped in his tracks as he heard a low growling behind him. Kobalt turned to see a pair of beowolves emerge from the ruin with their eyes fixed on him.

"Must not have been here last time." Kobalt spoke aloud as his stance relaxed and he lowered Lucida ever so slightly. "Did the ones I let live not tell you about me?"

The wolves just growled louder and pounced on him, likely sensing an easy kill. Kobalt sighed as he raised his left hand, firing two quick shot and obliterating the wolves' heads.

"I'm packing more firepower than last time by the way." Kobalt added moving back down the street.

He soon spotted the very street sign he was looking for, and sure enough laying underneath it was the teddy bear he had found before. Reaching underneath he pulled it out and took a hard look at it, though bleached of color from the sun there was nothing else wrong with the bear. With all the rain and snow it had probably seen he had expected it to be falling apart or at least covered in mold. And yet it was relatively fine. As he examined the bear, Kobalt felt something strange about it and closed his eyes. Reaching out with his own Aura, he felt traces of someone else residing on the bear. It was faint, weakened by the years, but it was unmistakably someone's Aura. He'd have to worry about it later, in the meantime Kobalt wanted to get back to the airship now that he'd retrieved the bear and catch up on some sleep.

"Kobalt!" Sable shouted as she ran towards him down the hallway. Looking closely he could see a distressed look on her face, Sable had never freaked out like this before.

"We're in trouble." She said, coming to a stop in front of him and trying to catch her breath.

"Did you get caught already?" Kobalt asked her

"No, we need to talk." Sable shook her head, dragging him into the training room.

"I looped some old footage, they won't know what's really going on in here." She added once she closed the door. "Kobalt they're using us. The Directors, the Chairman, Black Knight, all of them! They're using us!"

"Slow down Sable, what are you talking about?" Kobalt asked, gently grabbing her shoulders to try and calm her down. The moment the door had closed she started shaking like a leaf.

"I hacked into the database, the encrypted files like you dared. It was all about us, me you and some other kid they brought in a few years back." Sable told him after taking a deep breath. "They call us Subjects, we're nothing but tools to them. And the Chairman has some kind of fixation on you in particular."

"Me, what for?"

"I don't know, something about what you did in Vacuo, and then the Tundra in Sanus. I was too focused on the rest of what I found. That thing that wiped out the Tundra Base was an experiment the made using your Aura." Sable went on "They don't want to protect the Kingdoms Kobalt, they want to take them for themselves. And they're going to use us to do it."

"That's insane, we've been with Black Knight for years I think we would've noticed something like—" Kobalt began

"Like everyone outside of the Directors ignoring us once they learn out names? Kobalt they even have plans for controlling us if we don't go along with their plan." She said "Aside from their mind control experiment they have plans to kidnap your mom if you don't work with them."

Kobalt's face paled beyond the light tone it already was when she mention his mother. Dusk wouldn't dare, he knew that Kobalt would kill anyone who threatened his mother.

"Believe me now Kobalt?" Sable asked "You never told me about your family before. I'm telling you, we're just tools to them. Weapons to be aimed and fired."

"But why? Why would Dusk do all this?" Kobalt thought aloud.

"Think back Kobalt, think hard about all the times we've seen him with the directors. They treat him like a king, they don't question anything he does." She added

"He wants to rule." Kobalt nearly whispered

"And he's willing to do anything to do it. Remember Halcyon, that colony you investigated six months ago?" Sable asked

"Yeah I went in to retrieve a data file so we could find out what happened." Kobalt answered, only for Sable to shake her head.

"No, you were sent in because Atlas was finally about to send a team of their own to get that file. The Chairman wanted you to beat them to it." She said shivering again. "He's the reason the colony fell, I caught glimpses of him in the footage I hacked into. And once everyone was dead or gone, I saw him walk up to some giant snake like they were friends! Kobalt what are we going to do?"

She looked at him for help, for reassurance, for something. When it came to missions he was always the one with the plan, the one who figured out the best course of action. But now, with Sable looking up at him her eyes on the verge of tears, he couldn't come up with anything. She must've seen it in his face, because that second she collapsed in his arms.

"It's not fair, we're just kids." She cried, burying her face in his chest. "I just wanted to help people. Why did this have to happen?"

"It's okay." Kobalt said softly, wrapping his arms around her. "You're the closest thing to family I've got these days, and no one messes with my family."

"Family huh?" Sable chuckled, easing her head back "So what's the plan big bro?"

"The Chairman's sending me to Vacuo after our next mission to prep for taking back the Tundra Base." Kobalt started "You're going to Mistral right?"

"Yeah." Sable nodded

"You're going to have to play the waiting game." He told her "I'm not going to the Tundra base, I'll break out somewhere near Vale and catch a ride to Mistral. Then I'll come for you."

"And then we go find the other kid?" Sable asked "Angel."

"Yeah, you'll need to hack in to find out what base he's in." Kobalt said

"And then what?"

"We tell Atlas, Vale, all the kingdoms." Kobalt finished "They need to know what's coming for them."

A/N

Alright I'm back with a new chapter, this one with double the flashbacks!  
Sorry about this one coming out later than usual, but I've been pretty busy lately. I've been working on a new original story that so far I'm loving as much as KNGT, only this one isn't a FanFic.  
So for obvious reasons that one has been taking up a good portion of my time and as a result I haven't had as much time as usual to work on or even edit KNGT.

Which brings me to some "bad" news. From now on KNGT chapters will be going up every other Friday, and they may or may not be a short hiatus sometime in the future.  
It all depends on how much work I'm able to get done on KNGT as time goes on. Used to be I was writing about ten or more chapters ahead of posting. It gave me time to edit and make big changes if I decided I had a better idea. Now I'm about five chapters ahead, and if I can't widen that gap a little I'll be taking some time of posting so I can get back ahead.

It might be an option to post as I write, but I personally feel like it would lower the quality of the chapters and take away from the benefit of weekly updates.  
But rest assured KNGT isn't going anywhere, I will finish this story even if the end is a ways off. I've had the timeline planned out for ages, and I'm just getting to the good stuff.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'll see you all in two weeks.


	41. Chapter 41: Changes in the Wind

"So when can I get this stupid cast off?" Nickole asked sitting in her family's infirmary with her mother and cousin Ash. The latter of whom was looking at her latest X-Ray, it had been days since the tournament ended and she was still stuck wearing the excessively large cast around her legs. Showering had been an absolute pain in the ass, she had Kobalt take her to Haven each morning so Amber could help her in and out without getting the damn thing wet. And now being home Nickole's mother had taken over that job. Frankly, Nickole preferred Amber. Amber didn't constantly badger Nickole about everything that had gone on during the tournament and before.

"Well it looks like it'll be another day or two." Ash said scratching his head "If they had taken you here first I could've given you a better cast. Plaster is really outdated."

"You know how Mistral can be, I bet half the doctors there think it doesn't makes a difference." Citrine laughed as Nickole groaned in frustration.

"Can't you do anything Ash?" Nickole asked "A new cast maybe?"

"There'd hardly be any point." He shook his head "You'll just have this one off by Wednesday."

"It would make showering easier." Nickole said, staring daggers at her mother who just waved her off and smiled.

"Oh come on dear. Haven't you enjoyed bonding the past few days?" Citrine Gareth smiled innocently

"For the love of the Winds mom, if you shove your scroll in my face while I'm showering again I'll have dad help me." Nickole threatened.

"Oh please your father?" Citrine asked "Your father wouldn't be able to keep his eyes open if he was in the same bathroom as his showering daughter."

"Auburn then, or Lian, or one of my hundred or so cousins." Nickole growled "I bet any of them would—"

"If it bothers you that much I'll stop." Her mother sighed "Honestly Nickole, you could just ask me nicely to stop."

"Winds know I tried!" Nickole shouted "You don't listen."

"I think it would be more accurate to say she only hears what she wants to." Ash added with more than a bit sass.

"Ash do I have to remind you who signs your paychecks?" Citrine asked flashing her cousin in law a deadly smile.

"No one, I work here solely for the benefit of the family." Ash rolled his eyes.

"I could still assign you graveyard shift." She went on, smiling all the while.

"Oh yes that would be such a punishment, taking care of all these patients so late at night on my own." Ash countered motioning to the empty infirmary.

"Shion." Citrine simply stated. No sooner had the words left her mouth than Ash turned around and walked as quickly as he could out of the infirmary.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Nickole asked, looking at her mother partially in fear and respect.

"A tip dear, always have dirt on someone about something." Her mother chuckled "As long as you know one important thing, they are putty in your hands."

Nickole shivered as she thought about how much her mother must know if that was the kind of advice she was giving.

"Come on, let's get you back to your room." Citrine smiled, helping Nickole out of the bed and handing her crutches to her.

"I've got a better idea." Nickole said, taking off ahead of her mother. "I want some fresh air."

"Stubborn as your father." Citrine sighed, following Nickole out of the infirmary. "Are you sure you can handle stairs right now?"

"Definitely not." Nickole stated plainly.

"And you planned on getting up them to go outside how?" Her mother asked "We could just go to the elevator and of back to your—"

"You know when I wanted to go somewhere Kobalt was more than willing to help with stairs." Nickole cut her off as she approached the stairs "What does it say when my boyfriend is willing to help me where my mother isn't. Especially with something so simple."

"How is it your as stubborn as your father and as mouthy as me?" Citrine sighed moving to help her daughter up the stairs. "And for the record I'm sure there are plenty of things Kobalt would do for you that I wouldn't."

"Mom!" Nickole shouted, her face turning bright red despite no one else being in the stairwell.

"What? I never said what those things were." Her mother laughed "You should get your mind out of the gutter dear."

"Can you go five minutes without trying to embarrass me?" Nickole asked as she reached the top and pushed the door to the outside open. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Nickole felt like she hadn't been outside in a month. True it had only been three days since she'd actually set foot outside the manor, but being almost forced to stay inside made it feel like much longer. And today was a beautiful day too. The crisp autumn air was had settled in long ago, the end of fall had always been Nickole's favorite time of the year. She loved the weather, the color of the trees in Vale, but mostly the comfortable clothes she was able to wear. She had missed her wool jacket, it had been too warm for it the past few months.

"I can manage on my own from here mom." Nickole said, resting briefly on her crutches.

"Are you sure?" she asked, a genuine touch of concern in her voice.

"I'm just going for a walk, and I'm surrounded by family." Nickole added, trying not to sound annoyed. But she felt as if she failed miserably so she turned to face her mom. "I just want a few minutes to myself is all, feel like I need to unwind."

"Alright, but if you need anything just call okay?" Her mom said before going back inside.

"I will." Nickole promised before turning back around, she shuffled through the field on her crutches looking for somewhere quiet. Eventually she found a small stone bench on one of the more hilly areas inside the compound's walls. From here she could see out over the wall and make out Vale in the distance. Well, more Beacon Tower than Vale. She could just make out the tip of the tower from this distance, and even then she was all but squinting to see it. Although what she really wanted to see was the expansive forest between her and the city. The bright orange, red, and yellow colors of the trees never failed to take her breath away as she took in the view. Even after years of seeing it over and over again, she never got sick of the sight of that forest in the fall. Pulling her legs up she lied on the bench with her back on the built up arm rest so she could get a better view of the forest. Getting nice and comfortable she fished through her pocket and pulled out her scroll. Her view got even better when Kobalt answered the video call, his face lighting up when he realized who was on the other end.

"Hey Nickole, what's up?" he asked beaming, despite the sweat on his forehead. "You got the cast off yet?"

"Not yet no." she shook her head "I've got a couple more days to go still. What about you, how's Atlas?"

"Wouldn't know I'm not there yet." He shrugged "But hey check this out."

He quickly turned his scroll around so the camera was facing away from him, but the view he had could not have been more different from what Nickole was looking at. Stretching out for miles before him was dark blue water, almost still save for the wake of the boat he must've been on. Dotting the ocean were dozens of icebergs, a large variety of sizes among them.

"Wow, looks like winter out there." Nickole said as Kobalt turned the camera back around.

"Looks like Atlas. Captain says we'll be there by the end of the day." Kobalt told her before wiping some sweat off his forehead. "It's certainly been an, interesting ride."

"Yeah I meant to ask, you been working out or something?" Nickole laughed

"Something like that." Kobalt chuckled "There have been **a lot** of icebergs. When the captain found out there was a pair of Huntsmen on his ship he asked if we could get rid of some of the larger ones out of the way to make things faster."

"And you said yes." Nickole shook her head

"Of course, I feel like I'm going stir crazy just sitting on my ass." He laughed "Besides its good target practice."

"Target practice, how have you been handling them?" she asked

"Focused beams." Kobalt smiled "Midori never tried having me aim at a target. With all that heat in one spot I've been able to melt more than a few icebergs out of our way."

"How much time have you saved?"

"About a day and half." He told her "Would've been more if Eisen would get off his ass and help me!"

"I'm not a heavy lifter Kobalt." Eisen retorted somewhere off screen.

"And I'm not officially a Huntsman, don't see me slacking off though do ya?" Kobalt laughed

"Kobalt you're a Huntsman in everything but name." Nickole smiled as he turned back to her.

"I've still got a long way to go." he said sheepishly.

"You're closer than the rest of us." She added

"Yeah well that tends to happen when you train for eleven years straight." Kobalt sighed "And a job's a job. Better than—"

Kobalt was quickly cut off by the sound of someone shouting over a speaker system.

"Looks like we got another iceberg to deal with." Kobalt sighed "And I've got enough left in me for a few more."

"Alright, keep in touch while you're in Atlas." Nickole smiled as he reached for his helmet.

"Will do, and hey if you ever just want to talk gimme a call." He added with a smile before throwing his helmet on and ending the call.

 _Talk,_ Nickole scoffed in her head. There were certainly things Nickole wanted to talk about, but not with Kobalt. He had enough problems without adding hers to the ever growing list he already had. It wasn't something she wanted to bother him with, it didn't even have anything to do with him. In comparison to everything he had dealt with it was nothing. But the moment he said those words every thought she'd been having popped back into her head causing her to frown the second the call ended. As she tried to think the wind blew hard against her face, making her shiver and pull her legs up to her chest. Cast or not it helped.

"It's getting cold fast." A voice called out behind her, Nickole turned her head to see Auburn wheeling up next to her. "Mom told me you were out here, figured you might want this."

That was when she realized he was carrying a pair of styrofoam cups, and held one out for her to take. Grabbing it out of his hand and taking a sip, she felt the hot chocolate warm her up very quickly.

"Thanks." She said looking back at her older brother. He seemed to be doing much better than before, he had continued cutting his hair and shaving which was a good sign. And he had even taking to wearing his contacts again instead of his glasses.

"So what's up?" Auburn asked wheeling closer so it was like he was sitting next to her. "I feel like I haven't talked to you since you've been back."

"You've been busy, I didn't want to bother you." Nickole told him

"You sure that's why?" Auburn raised an eyebrow "You sure it wasn't about that?"

He pointed to the cast on her legs with an accusing look. As much as Nickole liked to think she was the smart one she had to admit, her brother was pretty sharp himself.

"You're not going to end up like me Nic, this is just temporary." He assured her when he saw her look away.

"I don't know how you do it Auburn." Nickole sighed "I can barely handle being on crutches for another day or two."

"You think I was always this comfortable in my wheelchair?" he asked "Took me years to finally get used to rolling around in this thing. And even still sometimes I head for the stairs instead of the elevator."

"So how've you been?" Nickole asked

"Better thanks. Took a break from organizing missions for something a bit more fun."

"What'd you end up doing?"

"Started up a betting pool for the Vytal Festival Tournament." He smiled wickedly "Made a lot of money betting on you and your boyfriend."

"I feel like I should take a cut of that." Nickole grinned not bothering to tell her brother how much lien she made betting on Kobalt as well. "Who all joined in on that?"

"Half the family, maybe more." He laughed "Most of 'em had their money on that Mistral girl or the Atlas kid. But Gains, a few others, and I made a killing betting on Kobalt."

"Well you certainly won't get far betting against him." Nickole smiled

"What about you?" Auburn asked "Other than the obvious how have you been?"

"Oh you know, fine." Nickole lied, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"Yeah, okay." Auburn scoffed "You might've learned a lot of things at Beacon but how to lie was not one of them. What's up, is it mom? I can talk to her about—"

"No it's not mom." Nickole cut him off, he wasn't even close to the mark. "It's me. A lot's happened recently and it's just tough you know?"

"Not really, since I don't know about half the stuff that's happened." He told her

"Remember what I said before leaving for Beacon? I swore I'd find the people who attacked you." Nickole said "Well I found them, but there's nothing I can do about them. I'm not strong enough to go after them, and by the time I am someone will have already done something."

"You're not strong enough?" Auburn asked

"I've seen what their people can do, I'm not a match for them. A graduate from Beacon isn't enough to take them down." She went on "Only a Huntsman with years of experience would be able to take on Black Knight. That's not me."

"Do you still want be a Huntress?" Auburn asked, hitting the nail on the head. That question had be popping into her head since her legs had been broken in the tournament. She had failed back then, if she was as good as she should be that never would've happened.

"I've never been very good at all this anyway." Nickole sighed "Fighting was your thing."

"You only think that because you're comparing yourself to people like me, or dad, or Kobalt." Auburn insisted "Nickole you're much better than I was at your age. Yeah I was pretty good after Beacon, but you're much better than when I was there."

"That's not true." Nickole shied away from his response.

"And as far as Kobalt goes, I've read the combat reports in his file. It's scary how much stronger he is than I thought." Auburn continued "Dad was shocked when he read it, it's not fair to compare yourself to him. He's something else."

"His file." Nickole's eyes went wide as she remembered what she planned to do with her time off. "There was something in there I needed to look at."

She got up from the bench as quick as she could and grabbed her crutches, moving for the door as soon as she got her balance.

"See, that right there is why you'd be a good Huntress." Auburn added following close behind her "You always want to help people. Me, Kobalt, you need a reason to do what you do other than 'for the family'."

"Maybe." Nickole smiled

"There's no maybe about it Nickole." Auburn laughed "And for the record, even grandfather thinks you're the best warrior we've ever trained."

"Now you're just making things up." she rolled her eyes. It didn't matter though, right now what she knew was that she needed to get to her computer.

"What are you expecting to find?" Auburn asked when Nickole got inside and punched the button for the elevator.

"Something to help Kobalt. Things got more complicated during the tournament." Nickole said as she shuffled into the elevator, Auburn following her. "He went to Atlas for some solitude while he figures things out. I'm hoping I can find something in his file to explain what he's going through."

"And that would be…?" he waited for her to finish as they reached her room.

"Private." Nickole said opening her door. "Sorry but I don't want to tell too many people about this. Too many know already if you ask me."

"Fair enough, just let me know if I can help." Auburn said before wheeling away.

Nickole closed and locked her door before moving over to her computer and booting it up. She checked her messages and sure enough there was an unread one from Mrs. Ward.

There are going to be a lot of things in here you might not enjoy reading. The message read before the attachment.

Nickole took a deep breath before opening the file, from what she knew only seven people outside of Black Knight had access to the entire file, some people had bits of it but not the whole thing. The four headmasters of the Huntsman Academies, Kobalt's parents, and now Nickole herself were the only ones with access to it.

She opened the file.

Subject: Kobalt

Name: Gallin Michael Ward

Age: 18

Status: Rogue

Accompanying the information at the top of the file was by far one of the one of the most astounding photos she'd seen of Kobalt. She had never truly seen him in real combat, but that was how she would describe the photo she now saw. Sword out and held at his side, helmet tossed away, and his left arm curled up and projecting a shield to defend against some kind of attack. His face looked serious, determined, like he wouldn't let anything get in his way. Below the photo was caption: **Taken from Lieutenant Ice's helmet recording during the battle with White Fang forces in Vacuo**. Nickole took another deep breath before continuing down the file. She had a lot of information to get through. She started with the psychological analysis.

A/N

Don't have much to say about this one, it's kind of short and mostly setup really. I felt like I should give Nickole some time with her family, she hasn't really been alone with them since chapter 21 and a few of their members are pretty important to the plot. Or at least they will be. So I guess it's character development on two fronts for her story in this arc. Now that I think about it there is going to be a lot of KNGT's families in this arc. But it's school break so I guess that makes sense.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'll see you all in two weeks.


	42. Chapter 42: Welcome to Atlas

Stepping off the ship and back on to solid ground Kobalt was glad his trip was finally over. He swore when it came time to leave, he'd be flying out on an airship. The extra cost would be well worth the time saved and would hopefully avoid being in one place with so many people for so long. Usually that wasn't an issue, but with the Vytal Festival having just ended Kobalt was being recognized more than he cared for. One couple on the ship was heading back home to Atlas from Mistral themselves, and would not stop pestering him about the tournament. Hell, Kobalt would even spring for a first class ticket if it reduced the odds of that happening again. He shook his head as he wondered how movie stars dealt with this kind of thing on a daily basis. Taking another step forward, Kobalt felt the familiar crunch of snow beneath his feat reminding him he was in Atlas. God he had missed it here, he loved the weather in Atlas, freezing or not. Something about being surrounded by snow made him feel so much more at peace, and as he walked he felt the familiar touch of snow falling on his skin. Even late in the evening the snow practically glowed. Now this, this felt like home.

A sudden cracking noise brought Kobalt's attention back to his destination. The cargo crane that was lowering his bike jerked suddenly, shaking off sheets of ice as it moved his motorcycle.

"Hey careful with that!" Kobalt shouted at the crane operator.

"Relax kid I've got this." The operator said "And even if I don't, insurance will cover it."

"Well I don't have insurance on it. So watch it." Kobalt warned "That bike's survived a two way trip from Vale to Mistral. I'd hate to lose it here."

"Alright, alright, I'll be careful." The operator added, taking his time lowering the bike from the deck of the ship. By the time the operator got the bike on the ground, the linings of Kobalt's armor had been filled in with snow and the fur on his shoulder had effectively turned white. He quickly shook it off as he went to check on his bike, worried it had been damaged at some point during the trip, but so far so good. Smiling as he stood up he put his key into the ignition and his smile grew when the bike roared to life.

"I believe this is where we part ways." Eisen spoke up behind Kobalt, reminding him of the old Huntsman's presence.

"I'll be waiting for a military transport here." Eisen added, extending his hand. "So this is goodbye."

"Thanks for the ride." Kobalt said, shaking the man's hand.

"Take care of yourself young man." Eisen said as Kobalt took his seat on the bike, threw on his helmet, and slung his bag across his back.

"You too sir." Kobalt nodded as he gunned the engine. He had preloaded the directions to his grandfather's home into his HUD and was looking forward to a nice relaxing ride. In no time at all he had hit the highway and was following the directions straight into the heart of Atlas. The already impressive amount of skyscrapers grew the further in he went, but along with them was an increase in air traffic. Atlesian airships became more and more frequent in the sky as Kobalt pressed forward, reminding him he was heading to the very edge of the military district. Eventually Kobalt reached his exit, but just as he pulled off he noticed the blockade the military had placed a short way down the road. Above the blockade he noticed a holographic sign glowing brightly enough to be seen even where he was.

 **Restricted for training maneuvers from 8:00 Pm – 11:00pm.**

 **Please plan accordingly.**

As Kobalt watched a group of soldiers crossed the street on the other side of the barricade with a large mech behind them. Training in an urban environment was a good idea, things could go wrong at any moment. And with Black Knight lurking in the shadows Atlas's general likely was taking any chances. As Kobalt sped along his new route, he nearly looked up in awe at the buildings around him. His route had taken him through the heart of Atlas, and as he waited at a red light in the middle of downtown Kobalt could barely believe what he was seeing. He had seen Vale at night before, the city lights were amazing. And Mistral was absolutely beautiful once the sun had set. But Atlas was a whole other thing entirely, the lights of the city shone so brightly it could've been the middle of the day for all Kobalt knew. And with the amount of people still out and walking across the street and on the sidewalks it certainly didn't feel like it was so late in the day. Billboards shown with advertisements of everything from Dust to the latest in fashion, giant holo-screens aired live new coverage, and in the center of the giant square that was downtown was an impressively large building with the time, temperature, and date glowing brightly on a huge holo-board. Kobalt was so absorbed in his surroundings he almost missed the light turning green and reluctantly drove on down his route. Eventually his road took him further and further away from downtown and closer to the military district. The number of civilian cars on the roads dropped drastically while APCs and other troop transports dominated the highway. Following the GPS Kobalt found himself skirting along the edge of the commercial and military districts until he finally reached his destination.

Just off a solitary road and up a small hill between the two biggest districts in Atlas was the home and workshop of the weapons engineer Sterling Grace. Gated in and isolated from a good portion of the rest of the city, Kobalt could easily see his mother growing up here. The mansion seemed more like a piece of art designed to be lived in than a home, curved walls and wave live roofs it was clear that Kobalt's father had intended their home in Mistral to remind his mother of Atlas. Kobalt drove up to the gate and put his bike into park, nearly expecting someone to come out and greet him. He was half right, after a brief moment of waiting a screen to his side lit up and what looked like a security official came into view on it.

"This is a restricted area sir, and Mr. Grace is not taking meetings regardless of what circumstances caused you to be late." The officer said "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"I think Mr. Grace will make an exception for me." Kobalt told him as he removed his helmet. "My name is Kobalt Ward, and I believe my grandfather is expecting me."

The officer's eyes went wide when he saw Kobalt's face and he very quickly became flustered.

"I'm terribly sorry, please forgive me Mr. Ward." The officer added "We weren't expecting you for another day."

"Managed to speed my trip up a bit." Kobalt laughed "Would you mind letting me in now?"

"Of course sir, we can have someone waiting at the garage to take your bike as well." He offered

"That's alright I can handle it." Kobalt told him as the gates opened. Driving forward Kobalt quickly pulled in front of the large garage door as it opened up and another security officer waited on the other side.

"Mr. Ward, I've cleared a spot for you by the entrance." The officer said, motioning to an empty slot directly to Kobalt's left. When he had heard garage he half expected his grandfather to have it stocked with sports cars of one kind or another. In truth there were only two such cars while the rest of the garage was filled to the brim with less fancy and more armored vehicles in various states of maintenance. Noticing Kobalt's surprise the officer next to him spoke up.

"Your grandfather gets many requests to prototype new transports and assault vehicles from Atlas." He told him "Frankly I think it's one of the few projects he still enjoys. Speaking of your grandfather, you should find him right inside."

Kobalt nodded as he removed his helmet and walked through the front door of the house, figuring it would be a smarter choice than coming in from the garage. Stepping inside Kobalt nearly whistled in awe at the sheer size of the place. It was like he had stepped into his parent's home back in Mistral time ten. Everything was bigger, the rooms, the ceiling, the windows. Even from the entrance Kobalt had an impressive view of downtown Atlas in the distance. Walking forward Kobalt took his time looking around the first floor, there was no sign of anyone else here, but Kobalt found himself pulled back towards the large window again. Setting his bag down on a nearby couch, he walked up to take in the sights once again. It was almost surreal how detached this place was from the bustling city he had been in less than an hour ago. Kobalt's mom had been right, this would be a good place to clear his head. But first he should probably find the family member he was staying with.

As if on cue, Kobalt heard the sound of grinding metal off in the distance. Finding his way through the mansion, Kobalt found the sound was coming from the stairs leading further down. Slowly making his way down the sound got consistently louder before stopping entirely. Kobalt reached the bottom of the stairs to find an incredibly expansive workshop, dozens of holographic displays and half-finished projects were strewn about the place in what he could only describe as an orderly mess. Standing at a table in the center of the room was a man about Kobalt's height with greying black hair and a thin grey beard. His eyes were entirely focused on the project in front of him, a silver rapier that he raised to his face as he blew off the metal shavings around the cross guard. He briefly inspected the weapon before nodding and placing it into a long steel briefcase.

"Sorry, I didn't show up at a bad time, did I?" Kobalt asked as the blade left his grandfather's hands. Perhaps startling the man wasn't the best idea, but Kobalt couldn't resist the urge upon seeing how focused he was. Fortunately the old man didn't have too bad of a reaction, he merely jumped slightly at the sound coming from behind him before turning around. That was when Kobalt noticed the plain white t-shirt and pants he was wearing, almost certainly his work clothes.

"Ahh Kobalt, I didn't expect you until tomorrow." The man said brushing the scrap metal off his clothes. "I would've prepared a more appropriate welcome had I known you'd be early."

"Don't worry about, kinda wanted to see you work." Kobalt waved him off taking a step forward and extending his hand. "Nice to finally meet you, grandfather."

"Feel free to call me Sterling," he smiled, shaking Kobalt's hand.

"Yeah, no offense but grandfather didn't really roll of the tongue very well." Kobalt admitted "I don't suppose you could show me where I'll be staying? I feel overdressed like this."

"Of course, right this way." Sterling smiled leading the way back up the stairs "Once you change, I don't suppose I could study that armor of yours, it's rather fascinating."

"Maybe, it's nothing special really." Kobalt shrugged "Looks more intricate than it really is."

"A shame, well this is the guest room." Sterling sighed "I suppose you'll want to get some rest after your trip."

"I got plenty on boat ride here." Kobalt told him "Besides, it would be rude of me to go to bed without having a real conversation with you."

"Fair enough." Sterling chuckled, "Well, it's been a long day for me, I think I could use a drink."

"Care to make me one as well?" Kobalt asked walking into his room and slowly taking off his armor.

"Gladly."

Changing into a black t-shirt and jeans Kobalt stepped out feeling significantly more comfortable, stretching a relatively stiff arm Kobalt made his way to what he assumed was the kitchen from the sounds of drinks being poured. He hadn't been expecting the club sized bar he found himself standing in front of, nor had he expected his own grandfather to work up a pair of drinks as quickly and professionally as he had.

"A pair of Atlases," Sterling said sliding Kobalt the drink "I felt it appropriate for your stay here."

Kobalt nearly fell over laughing as he went to sit at one of the bar's stools and reach for the drink. Noticing the curious look his grandfather was giving him Kobalt steadied himself.

"Sorry," Kobalt offered still chuckling a little "I gave that drink its name."

"Well that's, interesting." Sterling laughed "Cheers."

"Cheers." Kobalt smiled before taking a sip, quickly realizing the significantly better taste.

"I tended bar in college for fun." Sterling said, noticing the look on Kobalt's face "Picked up some nifty tricks for drinks. That's an Atlas with crushed cherries and red vermouth, not to mention the best Altesian whiskey money can buy."

"Well you've got me hooked." Kobalt complimented with a raise of his glass.

"So, your mother tells me there are people after you." Sterling began "Would you care to elaborate on what she said?"

"I suppose we should have this conversation sooner rather than later." Kobalt sighed "How close are you with the Atlas military?"

"Close enough that I'm sick of Ironwood wasting my time with projects so simple my apprentice could handle them." Sterling rolled his eyes.

"Then you know what their capable of. Imagine a group with the same technical know-how and significantly looser morals." Kobalt told him "They're called Black Knight, I spent the last eleven years with them training."

"To be what?"

"I thought I was going to be a hero." Kobalt scoffed "They told me they needed my help to save the kingdoms. And I was naïve enough to believe them. They just wanted a living weapon."

"So all the things you can do…" Sterling started before trailing off as he realized what he was about to say.

"Are thanks to them." Kobalt nodded "Increased strength, speed, pain tolerance, I can't even get sick like normal people."

"Let me guess; you left and they didn't quite like that?" Sterling deduced

"Yeah, lost my memory on the way out the door too." Kobalt added

"So this Black Knight, should I expect some kind of visit from them?" his grandfather asked, sounding more than a bit concerned.

"With how close you seem to be to the Atlas military center, no." Kobalt shook his head "They wouldn't be able to take me on without making enough noise to get a military response, and Atlas's response time is fast."

"That it is." Sterling chuckled "I was working on a transports in the garage a few years back when some Dust became agitated. It was only a small explosion but I had Atlas spooks combing over the house for hours."

"You know, my mom should've told me you had so many toys months ago." Kobalt smiled "She might not have gotten me to leave."

"Well in truth I don't, the garage is the exception." Sterling sighed "Most projects don't take me terribly long and are off to the commissioner within a few days. Ironwood's vehicle requests take longer than anything else."

"I'm surprised you don't keep copies." Kobalt noted

"Not in the traditional sense." Sterling half smiled before finishing his drink "Follow me."

Kobalt nearly gulped down the rest of his drink and rose to follow his grandfather back down into his workshop. He led Kobalt to the far end of it and opened a wide set of doors. The first thing Kobalt noticed was the expansive room laid out before him, it looked like someone had combined the obstacle course at the Gareth compound with the shooting course and given it an Atlas overhaul. But unlike the traditional white of the Atlas military, everything here was a dark grey with pulsing cyan lights. The next thing he noticed was the large circle on the floor that Sterling was beckoning him towards. As Kobalt stepped onto the circle, a ring of light flashed on it and multiple beams converged as if they were scanning him.

"Harmony? Register new user, dual clearance; familial and Ward." Sterling stated as the beams died down "Authorization Grace, Sterling."

"Authorization accepted, Mr. Grace." a female robotic voice called out "New user, please identify yourself."

Kobalt quickly looked over at his grandfather with relatively wide eyes, he had no idea just how advanced the man's workshop was. Sterling motioned for Kobalt to say something as the silence drew on.

"Kobalt Ward." He said, figuring that was what the computer meant by identify.

"New user registered, welcome Mr. Ward. It's been sometime since we've had a member of your group visit." The voice called out again, this time with a very chipper personality "And even longer since Mr. Grace has given anyone familial clearance."

"I feel I should ask what's going on." Kobalt stated, looking towards the ceiling half expecting someone to be up there with a voice modulator.

"Harmony was a nice little gift from Ironwood's predecessor." Sterling told him "Originally she was just a rather advanced voice control system built into the house."

"Originally?" Kobalt asked

"After multiple overhauls by Mr. Grace himself, I have been upgraded to the most advanced natural language based user interface on Remnant." Harmony spoke up, sounding extremely excited about that fact.

"She's just being modest. She's able to do more than just what you tell her." Sterling laughed "Harmony keeps most of my gear running properly without me even telling her to. And her analytical systems are indescribably helpful for my projects. With her help my designs have leapt forward at least a generation."

"Consider it thanks for making me more than just your butler." Harmony added

"Well you help out with some of the more basic day to day things as well." Sterling shrugged

"You know you could've just said you have an AI." Kobalt commented

"I would not go so far as to classify myself as an artificial intelligence." Harmony corrected him happily "I am not capable of making actions that benefit myself additionally I am severely limited by my hardware."

"But you're self-aware?"

"Only in theory." Harmony added, still sounding incredibly chipper "For all I know, this is all merely a simulation to see if I am capable of free thought."

"She also has a very, unique, sense of humor." Sterling chuckled

"So what would you classify yourself as?" Kobalt asked

"Simple. I am Harmony, Remnant's most advanced natural language based user interface." She said "I think it has a nice ring to it, don't you agree?"

"Well no offense to Harmony, but I take it you didn't bring me down here to introduce us." Kobalt said

"No, if you haven't guess already this is my little testing room." Sterling said

"I like to call it the Symphony Room." Harmony chimed in.

"This where all the custom weapons I make are put to the test, feedback is critical for development." Sterling went on "You father spent three years here fine tuning his own weapon."

"Yeah I'm sure my dad spent that long for just the weapon." Kobalt rolled his eyes.

"You'd be surprised, Marek's weapon and the core at its center are quite complex. Although you may still have a point, that last year I should've known something was up. " His grandfather cringed "Regardless, though I do not keep physical copies of my weapons, thanks to Harmony I maintain an extensive database of them all. With your clearance as family you are able to access most of them. And with your clearance as a Ward, you have access to all of your family's weapons. Give it a try."

"Okay…Harmony, load the Ward weapons database." Kobalt said

"Right away Mr. Ward." Harmony complied as the lights at Kobalt's feet began to glow even more brightly than before. Before Kobalt could even begin to question anything a series of holograms appeared in front of him, dozens of different kinds of weapons hovered in front of him at chest level.

"Hang on you'll need these." Sterling added, reaching over and tossing Kobalt a pair of gloves lined with some kind of circuitry.

"Don't tell me—" Kobalt began

"The holograms are completely manipulatable, but the gloves make things fun." Sterling smirked "Harmony will add a force feedback to the gloves to make it feel like you're actually grabbing something."

"No way." Kobalt shook his head.

"Try it." Sterling insisted.

Somewhat hesitantly, Kobalt reached out for one of the projections in front of him. He didn't hide his surprise when his hand met resistance around what seemed like a lightweight rifle with a recoil grip and thin stock. The rest of the weapons disappeared as he pulled the rifle closer to him and took aim with it.

"Opening Gambit, a multi form weapon capable of three distinct transformations." Harmony spoke up "Form two, ranged single fire rifle. Pushing the recoil grip forward will disengage the extended barrel and revert weapon to form one."

Following her instructions Kobalt pushed on the grip, half of the weapon slid forward and the stock retracted. The extended barrel disappeared and Kobalt held a single massive pistol in his hands, easily larger than his own Lucida.

"Form one, a high impact energy based pistol powered by a custom Dust core beneath the barrel." Harmony went on "Without the extended barrel's heat sink, the frame around the barrel will open up frequently to disperse heat. An additional compartment behind the barrel allows for specific Dust augmentation. Pulling the grip down will transform the weapon into its last form."

Once again following her advice Kobalt pulled the grip and the attached Dust core from the pistol. The core quickly slid down and folded over on the pistol grip as a short blade erupted from it.

"Form three, oscillating heat knife. In my opinion a very boring transformation, suited to only a few individuals." Harmony concluded

"Perhaps, but easily one of my favorites." Sterling smiled "This was the first in my advanced line of Dust Core weaponry."

"Whose weapon is this?" Kobalt asked as he reformed the weapon back to its rifle configuration.

"Your father's, this belongs to Marek Ward."

A/N

A day early. what is this? Long story short I'm working literally all day tomorrow but have today off. I doubt I'll want to do anything save sleep when I get home so I'm just going post this chapter now.

Say hi to Sterling and Harmony everyone! Couldn't resist that little joke with the weapon Sterling is making, just a little thing I can retcon later if need be or play around with later. Fun fact, Harmony is actually inspired by the AI in the original Sci-Fi story I'm working on. So if my skills as a writer improve enough to not only finish said story but get it published, you'll all get to see where she came from. Not much else to say on this one, but get ready for Kobalt to get a few upgrades from his grandfather. He's gonna need them later.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'll see you all in two weeks.


	43. Chapter 43: Vacation

Tristan was surprised how quickly he fell back into his old routine once he was home. He had heard old habits die hard but damn, the second he was back home it felt like he never left. After a short breakfast in the mornings he go for a run with Justin, then he'd head over the shooting range with his father for the better part of the afternoon, and finally he'd spend some time with Amber before heading home for the day. He didn't even remotely realize how much he'd come to like the day to day at Beacon. Or rather the lack of day to day, each day was always different from the last. Sure it was more of a week to week kind of thing, but at least it was more engaging than his home life had been lately. Even his father, Gino, could tell he was getting bored fast, it had barely been a few days into break and already Tristan was absentmindedly shooting targets at the range.

"You need something to break your rut." His father said one morning while the three of them were eating. "Maybe a new training regimen."

"Yeah somehow I don't see me coming up with something better than Kobalt's." Tristan yawned, thinking back to the training his friend had given him back at school. Frankly he was just proud he kept it up at home in the first place.

"Maybe a new hobby?" Gino suggested

"You turned my last hobby into a career." Tristan countered, his eyes not leaving the window and his view of Beacon.

"New girlfriend?"

"Dad!" Tristan shouted, pushing himself up from his chair only to see his father laughing hysterically in his seat. Tristan rolled his eyes as he sat back down and looked over at his brother, who as usual was absentmindedly reading the newspaper. All things considered this was a perfectly normal morning for their little family, Justin probably figured there was no need to try and stop their father. Tristan on the other hand did, but seeing as how his dad was just joking he didn't bother. Yet.

"Just try and think of something, you've got four months off from school." His father added sincerely "You don't want to be clawing at the walls do you?"

"I'll figure it out." Tristan agreed, finishing his juice before going to change. "Justin, you ready to go?"

The rest of the day dragged on like normal, eventually Tristan wound up knocking on the door to Amber's house. She had been pretty busy studying lately, with her professor catapulting her through classes she didn't have the time to enjoy the break like he did. Tristan wasn't even surprised that Amber father opened the door instead of Amber herself.

"Tristan good to see you." Mr. Geo sighed letting him in.

"You too sir." Tristan smiled "Something wrong?"

"I need to have a talk with Professor Brunswick," he sighed "He's pushing Amber too hard."

"Are her grades slipping?" Tristan asked

"No, but she's never not working, she's trying to finish five courses before break ends." He shook his head "Even I don't push my students that fast."

"You teach history." Tristan countered

"It's still a demanding field of study." Mr. Geo spoke up, the little inside joke between the two not doing enough to cheer him up.

"I'll say something to her, maybe I can talk some sense into her." Tristan promised

"You can certainly withhold more from her than I can." He laughed "She's—"

"Upstairs I know." Tristan nodded, his girlfriend had barely left her room lately. Food and exercise were all that got her out of it and the house for that matter. Tristan made his way up to the second floor and paused in front of her door. He could here Amber typing away on her computer even from here and a though popped into his head. Not bothering to knock Tristan opened the door to see her back facing him. She had barely changed out of her pajamas from the looks of it, only swapping out her top for a plain t-shirt and leaving her sweat pants on.

"I'll be down for lunch in a bit dad, just want to get a jump on this paper." Amber said, not even turning around.

"Young lady it is almost six o'clock." Tristan said, doing his best to sound like a parent "I insist you leave this room."

"Tristan?" Amber asked, wheeling around in her chair. "It's almost six?"

"Actually it is six, just figured that sounded better." He smirked, walking over and sitting down on her bed as she turned back to her computer.

"I really need to get a better handle on the time." she added, going back to typing.

"Yeah it's time you need a better handle on." Tristan scoffed

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amber asked, more than a hint of confusion in her voice.

"Well let's see." Tristan sighed "For starters when was the last time you took a minute or two to relax?"

"I've got too much work to afford to take a break." Amber answered

"How much sleep do you get each night?" Tristan went on

"Four hours and thirty minutes." Amber said as if it were perfectly normal.

"And when was the last time you left this room? And not to go downstairs for food and do yoga." Tristan cut her off as she opened her mouth.

"I went out on Wednesday to deliver a paper to my professor." Amber said after a moment of thinking.

"Amber." Tristan shook his head "It's Tuesday."

"What?" Amber asked, shooting up in her seat.

"Amber come here." Tristan beckoned as he stood off her bed and walked over to the closet. As she got up and walked over to him, he quickly turned her around to face the mirror that hung from her closet. "If you haven't noticed it, you're not looking to hot. And I don't mean unattractive, though you could stand to wash your hair more often. I mean you look sick, you need to ease up on some of this work."

"I'm fine." Amber insisted

"No you're not." Tristan told her "You're not fine and you're making me be the reasonable one here. You know how much I hate that."

"You don't think I can handle this?" She asked angrily

"I don't think anyone could handle what you're putting yourself through." Tristan added "You still owe me one, don't make me use it on something stupid like this."

"You wouldn't." Amber said, a bit of fear crossing her eyes.

"I would, I'm worried about you." he said as he crossed his arms "You're running yourself ragged, can't you ease up on all these classes? What's the rush?"

"Professor Brunswick says I'll excel at a faster rate the sooner I get to the more advanced classes." Amber sighed, her eye drooping as she seemed to accept how tired she was.

"How are you going to excel at all if you burn yourself out and never make it there?" Tristan asked

"Is it that bad?" Amber raised her head

"Yeah." Tristan sighed

"I'll call Brunswick tomorrow, tell him I'm going at a slower pace." Amber promised

"Good, in the meantime go take a shower." Tristan ordered "I'll help your dad with dinner."

"Thanks." She smiled, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Tristan walked downstairs just as he heard the shower kick on and the front door open. Amber's father shot him a grateful look as her mother nearly barged into the house. The spitting image of Amber if she had longer hair, Mrs. Geo nearly collapsed on the couch when she walked in muttering something about the longest surgery of her life along the way. She was still wearing her work clothes, not even bothering to change out of her scrubs and lab coat before coming home. Even more noticeable however, was the smear of half dried blood on her cheek. She sat down on the couch for a moment before she heard the shower running and her ears perked up.

"Finally talk some sense into her dear?" Mrs. Geo asked her husband, barely lifting her head up as she relaxed.

"Not exactly." Mr. Geo chuckled quietly.

"By the way isn't it six?" She yawned "Shouldn't Tristan be here by now? It's not like him to be late."

"No it's not." Tristan agreed, making Amber's mother briefly jumped up from her seat and nearly into the second floor. When she finally composed herself and turned to face him, she looked like she was about to chew him out. Then she remembered the shower running upstairs and ran over, pulling Tristan into the most uncomfortable bear hug in his life. Only made worse by the fact that Mrs. Geo was smearing blood all over his cheek.

"You talked to her didn't you?" she asked, pulling away from Tristan.

"Of course, it's kinda my job to keep her from going nuts." Tristan told her as he reached for a towel to clean his face off.

"Actually it's our job." Mr. Geo corrected "But thanks."

"Don't mention it." Tristan insisted making his way into the kitchen "So, pasta tonight?"

"Ooh, the Glaucous special, how could we resist?" Mrs. Geo laughed, already bounding up the stairs to change.

"Need a hand with anything?" Mr. Geo asked, following Tristan into the next room.

"Don't worry I've got it." Tristan waved him off "Besides, don't you have exams to grade? Take care of that now and you'll have more time with the family later."

"Amber wasn't kidding." He said in awe as he picked up his briefcase, "Beacon's really changed you."

"Maybe." Tristan shrugged "Of course, Amber got me in a responsible mood earlier. Gonna take me a bit to get back to normal."

Amber's father just laughed as he sat down at his desk and pulled a stack of paper's out of his case, giving Tristan the kitchen to himself. While he was getting dinner he couldn't help but wonder if Mr. Geo had a point. Maybe Beacon had changed him, and more than a little. Of course it was probably less because of Beacon and more who he met there. Most students didn't help their team leader recover his memories and discover he was a child super soldier in an organization trying to take over the world. Speaking of said soldier, maybe Tristan ought to give his friend a call, see how he was holding up.

 _Nah, Kobalt had been pretty insistent that some time alone would be best for him right now._ Tristan remembered. _Nickole's probably the only one he wouldn't mind calling him._

A short time later Tristan was enjoying a relaxing dinner with Amber and her family. It was good to see her back to normal, when he first came back it was clear something was off with her. But he had chalked it up to her just starting to relax after all the classes she had taken. When he found out she was barely leaving her room, he assumed she was falling back into one of her lazy schedules since she no longer had class to worry about. It wasn't exactly something new for her, he remembered stopping by to visit her one day during another school break only to find out she hadn't bothered to get out of bed yet. But when he found out she was studying for classes over the break he started to get a little worried. For a time he decided to let Amber do her thing, but when her father told her she was working on three classes over a four month break he realized he ought to do something.

"Hey something up?" Amber asked, breaking his line of thought "You're zoning out on us."

"Am I? Sorry, just thinking about something my dad said this morning." Tristan said trying to keep the conversation from Amber's now gone workload "He told me I should find something to do over the break, a hobby or something."

"I don't think that's going to solve your problem." Amber told him "You need to feel like you're doing something productive don't you?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Because it was the same for me during every break from high school." Amber added "If combat school wasn't so easy for you it would've been the same deal. But now that you're back from Beacon you need something more legit than working out to keep you focused."

"You know, I saw a bunch of flyers from the 9th Precinct around the university earlier today." Mr. Geo chimed in "They're looking for interns in their detective division, and I bet a Beacon student is leagues above what they're getting now."

"Detective work huh?" Tristan hummed, thinking back to what Nickole and Justin had told him before they all left for Haven.

 _Criminals are just as big a threat as Grimm are._

 _And if the police could catch every criminal there wouldn't be the White Fang._

"You know, that doesn't sound like a horrible idea." Tristan smiled.

A/N

I think this is my shortest chapter ever, of all time. Sorry about that, I needed a small amount of setup for later stuff that I want to get to but couldn't think of much else to throw in to this chapter.  
I was half tempted to go with a "Meet the Parents" kind of chapter here, but then I remembered writing Tristan and Amber in a a long time couple. Which means by now he's already met her parents and I can't really have fun with that.

Up on a Thursday again because go figure, I'm working all day Friday. Again. Oh well.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'll see you all in two weeks.


	44. Chapter 44: Breezing Through

Though it is clear his state of mind has undergone numerous changes over the many years Subject Kobalt has been with us, it would appear this latest one is by far the most drastic. His outlook and focus have changed but never to this degree, and never for such a brief period of time. Before any changes in him were permanent, but slight enough to not seem all that significant on their own. He has gone from a boy steadfast in his desire to be a hero, to a man dedicated to keeping the kingdoms safe from the shadows. But not once has he lashed out so violently against anyone, even those who desired to kill him. My initial analysis of him has only been substantiated by the evidence that he feels no connection to the events where his new persona has burst out. I am now sure that Subject Kobalt has developed an alternate personality, to which he does not feel any connection to. Additionally, in order to cope with the creation of said personality it appears he has developed a second coping mechanism. Though the personality itself is one form of coping, he doesn't seem to understand what it is he has created and to cope with that he has created another way of doing so. This extra coping mechanism is a creed of some sort, reflecting on his new dual nature. With the recording of the missions where the persona has surfaced we have pieced together this much.

 _I am the shadow that covers the world_

 _I am the flame that burns in the night_

 _Dark is my soul yet light my heart_

 _I exist as two and yet as one_

 _Unfading and ever burning_

Nickole stopped reading, she couldn't go any further after finding this. She knew those words, she had heard Kobalt recite them twice now. Once in the Ashen Tundra when his memories first started coming back in earnest. And once again during the tournament, it had been quiet then, so quiet she could barely hear it. But reading the words, Nickole's mind flashed back to that day and she could remember Kobalt muttering the words as the black fire burned around them.

In her heart she knew Kobalt would need to know about this, from the sound of it he didn't actually know about the words at all. If he said them whenever his other self surfaced then it was possible that he wouldn't remember. She quickly copied the information she had just read and messaged it to Kobalt, telling him she had found something that might help. It wasn't much of a surprise when he called her only a minute later. Answering the call she braced herself for the conversation she'd known she'd have to have with him eventually.

"Where did you find this?" Kobalt sighed, sounding like a mix between disappointed and defeated.

"Your Black Knight file." Nickole admitted, not wanting to beat around the bush on this one.

"You have my file?" Kobalt asked, his voice rising not in anger but surprise. And if Nickole didn't know any better, fear.

"Yeah, after the semifinals in the tournament I was talking with your mom asking her if she could send it so I could try to find something to help you." Nickole went on "I just…you had me really worried back there."

"How much have you seen?" Kobalt asked, his tone serious.

"Only your psychological evaluation." Nickole told him "And the bits of your missions attached to it."

"I take it you don't plan to stop reading anytime soon." Kobalt sighed

"I'm sorry, you're upset." Nickole said, knowing it was true from the second he spoke to her.

"No I…yeah, a little." Kobalt admitted "It's only…I wish you had asked me first."

"I'm sorry I should've, but I didn't want to worry you if I didn't find anything."

"No I get it, there are just things in there I would've had Ozpin or Leandros remove so you didn't have to see them." Kobalt told her

"Like what?" Nickole asked, against her better judgement.

"Like any of my missions, or the recordings of my operations." Kobalt said "You don't need to see that, you don't **want** to see that. Trust me."

"Do you want me to stop reading it?"

"I'm not sure if you would even if I asked you to." Kobalt chuckled sadly "But can you do me a favor?"

"Of course anything." Nickole promised

"If you find something you know I don't need to remember, don't tell me about it." Kobalt said "I know it's a lot to ask, but I'm sure there are things I don't want coming back to me."

"I don't know if I can do that Kobalt." Nickole admitted "Knowing this much is hard enough, but knowing more and not being able to tell you…"

"I know." Kobalt sighed "That's another reason I didn't want you to see the file. You're not going to see me the same after reading it."

"That's not true." She insisted "You're not the same person you were when this file was made. Everything in here was done by someone else."

"Nickole—" Kobalt began

"Blue, listen to me. You're not the same person, I can tell that from what I'm reading already." Nickole added "You're kind, smart, and funny. And nothing like the person I'm reading about here, I will never see you differently. No matter what I find."

Kobalt was silent on the other end of the line for a long time after that. Nickole could tell he was working out everything she just said in his head, she could imagine the stunned look on his face as he tried to think.

"I've told you you're the most amazing girl I've ever met right?" Kobalt asked, and Nickole could all but see the smile he had as he said it. "Thank you, that meant a lot."

"Anytime, and Kobalt…" Nickole began "If you really do want me to stop reading after I get through the psych evaluation I will."

"Would you?" Kobalt asked, it almost sounded like he was begging.

"Yeah, of course." Nickole promised

"Thanks." Kobalt said again before Nickole heard a knocking on his door over the call. "Damn that's right, my grandfather's taking me to some high society party tonight."

"Sounds like fun." Nickole laughed sarcastically.

"Yeah he called it a night of stuffed shirts and back handed compliments." Kobalt chuckled "Do me a favor and keep your scroll on you in case I need to escape."

"Who knows, you might actually enjoy it." Nickole suggested

"Yeah, well I'd still rather talk with my girlfriend." Kobalt added "If I'm going to be forced away from training or meditating than I've got no excuse not to call you."

"Well if that's the case I'll talk to you later tonight then." Nickole told him "See ya."

"Bye." Kobalt said before hanging up the call. Nickole would've been lying if she said she wasn't glad to hear him sounding more upbeat towards the end of the call. She knew the moment she sent him the information that he wouldn't take it well, but when he turned back to his usual happy self she was relieved. Not wanting to look too much further into his file for the day, Nickole pushed her chair away from her desked and briefly considered grabbing the TV remote when she heard a knock on her door.

"Nickole, it's me." her father spoke up on the other side "Can I come in?"

Taking a quick look down at herself, Nickole realized what the answer would be.

"Not right now." Nickole told him as she pushed her chair over to her dresser to grab a clean shirt. Or anything to throw over her pajamas.

"Ash has been trying to call for a little while now," her father said "Your cast can come off."

"What, seriously?!" Nickole shouted from inside, nearly rushing to the door to hug her father for the news.

"Yeah, he said you can come down whenever to have it removed." Her father went on.

"No need I got it." Nickole said, already lacing her cast with tiny runes. Soon a dozen tiny explosions peppered her cast breaking it into pieces.

"Nickole!" her father shouted, rattling the locked door handle as she finally stretched her legs. "What was that noise, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, that was the cast." Nickole said plainly as she stood up. Her legs felt a bit wobbly but soon she found her strength again.

"The cast?" her father asked "What did you do?"

"I blew it off." Nickole shrugged, knowing she was driving her father nuts.

"You blew it off? What if you hurt yourself, or—"

"Look I'd love to stand here and argue with you through the door dad," Nickole laughed as she walked to her bathroom "But I need a shower, my legs have been stuck in that cast for weeks."

"By the Winds, don't scare me like that." Her father sighed as he walked away from her door. Nickole just kept laughing as she turned the water on and hopped into the shower. It felt way too good to have water running down her legs again, and it was a huge relief to finally get rid of that cast's smell.

Walking out of the shower Nickole felt the need to do something physical now that she could. Her old routine was to go for a quick run before sparring with her aunt and then heading for the shooting course. But after her time at Beacon and her training with Kobalt, she felt that wouldn't hold up with how much stronger she was now. She began trying to think of what her options were as she strapped on her armor and grabbed her gear. Her aunt barely stood a chance against as it was, so that option was out. And most of the Huntsmen in her family would be out on missions right about now, all of them in fact. This was one of the busiest times of the year for her family since most of the villages across Sanus and Anima were running around the clock to gather supplies for the winter. Her family's Huntsmen always had their hands full keeping the larger Grimm at bay while people worked. And the standard soldiers were all busy guarding said villages day and night.

So why was her father still here?

 _He's probably staying to keep an eye on me._ Nickole thought as she wandered the halls. _Which means I should be able to guilt him into training with me._

Quickly making her way to her parent's flat, she knocked on the door half expecting her father to throw it open and scold her for earlier. Instead Nickole's mother opened the door, still dressed in her nightgown.

"This better be important, today's my day off." She yawned before realizing it was her own daughter standing in front of her. "Oh Nickole, sorry dear."

"Its fine mom." Nickole insisted "You can go back to sleep, I'm just looking for dad."

"Your father?" Citrine yawned again, "He went to go see you, then he said he was getting things set up for Aurelian's last trial."

As soon as the last few words left her mouth, Citrine Gareth's eyes shot wide open and she scrambled back into the bedroom of her flat.

"Oh my winds I'm an idiot!" She screamed as she tore through her closet to find something to wear. "I promised Lian I'd watch the trial and I overslept."

Nickole's mother almost literally threw on a sweatshirt and pants before grabbing Nickole's arm and pulling her down the halls of the manor. She was surprised to see her mother go from zero to a hundred so quickly, and was more than a little caught off guard as she was dragged to her father's training room. When they finally arrived Nickole could hear the sounds of a fight on the other side of the door, and her mother quietly opened it and walked through with Nickole on her heels.

"We got here just as they started up." Citrine whispered in her ear, as Nickole took in the sight before her.

Lian had no doubt improved as it was since the last time she had seen him training, but that had been with a sword and shield. Now all he held in his hands was a thin short sword with no cross guard, the armor he had been wearing before had been replaced with light leather gear instead of steel. And by the winds he was fast, it may not have been anything special for someone with years of training. But for the young boy with almost no preparation save his father's trials it was incredible. He was weaving in and out of his father's attacks, slicing at him all the while. Nickole was completely awestruck as she watched her baby brother go what she assumed to be all out for her father's final trial. She assumed wrong.

Before anyone could tell what was happening, Lian threw his sword at Faron. The spinning blade would've caught him in the side had he not rotated his staff in time to block it. But as their father was distracted with the blade Lian ran up, slid under the gap in Faron's legs to come out behind him. He quickly kicked the back of his father's knee causing him to drop to the ground. As his father dropped, Lian jumped up in the air, grabbing his sword before it hit the ground. When she finally managed to get a grasp on what just happened, Nickole saw Lian slice across their father's back as he fell. She also saw the enormous grin on her father's face as his son hit the ground and readied himself to continue. Instead Faron stood up straight, dispelled his weapon, and smiled at his son. Lian quickly realized what was happening and slowly settled down, nearly dropping his sword as a smile of his own grew on his face. As their father opened his mouth to say something, their mother rushed over and wrapped her arms around Lian before spinning him around like he was a toy.

"That's my boy!" she exclaimed with a bigger smile than anyone else in the room. "I knew you could do it!"

"That was pretty good bud." Nickole smiled as her mother let go of Lian and watched him wobble from dizziness. Nickole reached out to steady him, not wanting him to fall flat on his face after finally passing the last trial.

"So, you want to see what a real fight looks like?" She asked as he regained his balance.

"What?" Lian raised an eyebrow, clearly not getting what she was talking about.

"Nickole is there something you'd like to ask me?" her father smiled off to the far side of the training room.

"What do you say dad?" Nickole asked "When was the last time we had a chance to spar?"

"Not since you started sparring with my sister." Her father laughed "And that was two years before you left for Beacon."

"You wouldn't take me seriously." Nickole shrugged "And you were too scared of hurting you baby girl."

"And suddenly you think that will change?" he asked as he drew a huge sword wreathed in black smoke from midair.

"Yes, because I'm coming at you with everything I've got." Nickole smiled reaching behind her to draw Damocles and Aegis. "If you don't fight back you're going to be the one with broken bones."

Not wasting any time, Nickole bolted for her father, using her acceleration rune to boost her even faster. His eyes went wide as he realized she wasn't joking and he barely had time to shift his sword to deflect the thrust she brought with her. She slid past him, not breaking stride as she rotated and sliced Damocles up from below carving into her father's back. He retaliated by dropping his sword on top of her, but Nickole dropped to one knee and raised her shield to absorb the blow. Her father's blade bounced off her shield and she sprung up, thrusting into his face as she leapt into the air. She landed back down and side stepped the attack he attempted with how close she was. Nickole hacked away at her father, slicing her blade across his chest and arms as he tried and failed to counter her attacks. She dropped to her knee to dodge another attack and transformed Damocles into its rifle form and fired at him point blank as he missed his swing. Transforming it back she spun and sliced him as he reeled from the bullets impacting at such close range. When her father went to attack her again, Nickole met his blade with her own, locking them in place.

"You know I've been training with Kobalt lately." Nickole smirked, lacing a runeguard into her legs and arms so she could stand her ground. "He never told me how those training sessions he did with you went, but he's more skilled with a sword than you are."

"Careful Nickole." Her father warned, his teeth gritting as he tried to push her back. "I'm still your father."

"Oh I wasn't poking fun at you." Nickole smiled innocently "But I think he's had more sword training than most Huntsmen."

Quick as a flash Nickole dropped her rune and stepped to her right, making her father push past her and nearly trip over himself. She sliced at his open back as he flew by her and then readied herself for more.

"And he's been passing on some of that training to me." Nickole added as he father stood back up and dispelled the sword he made. When she saw his spear begin to form in his hands, she knew her father was starting to take things a little more seriously.

Almost the second he finished forming the spear her father rushed her, nearly catching Nickole off guard as he thrust the spear towards her. She managed to get her shield up just in time to deflect the strike past her head. She stepped back and to the left, dropping her shield hand down to grab her sword with both hands. She sliced upwards into her father's spear with every ounce of strength she had, knocking it up in the air with his arm struggling to hold onto it. He leapt back as Nickole stepped forward with an arc aimed for his face, she missed her target but the tip of her sword sliced into her father's chest. As Faron landed he settled into a low stance, his feet spread far apart and one hand out in front of himself to balance as his other hand held the spear behind him. Nickole knew that stance all too well from watching him train with Auburn, Nickole had dubbed it his counter stance. Any attack she made would be turned against her the second it was within range. Not once had she witnessed Auburn overpower her father when he got in that stance. But even the best defenses had a weakness, even the strongest warriors could be out smarted.

Nickole smirked as she took a step forward and spun, releasing the straps that held her shield in place with quick flick of her wrist while at the same time place a rune on the inside of it. Her shield streaked through the air and an acceleration rune on its way to her father, and Nickole registered an almost surprised look on his face. Nickole followed close behind it, gripping her sword in both hands. As her father moved to swat the shield up Nickole dropped low and slid along the floor with her eyes closed. No sooner had Nickole hit the ground then the rune on the inside of her shield exploded in a flash of bright light directly in her father's face. She heard his pained shout as it blinded him and pushed herself off the ground as she came up behind him. Raising her sword in both hands Nickole raked down her father's back sending him flying across the room. Still in the air he dispelled his spear and summoned his bow, firing wildly at her while still somewhat blinded. Nickole side stepped the first few arrows, and caught her shield to block the rest. She was just about to rush back in when she saw her father draw his bow back further, his gauntlet infusing his latest arrow with wind Dust. The result was Faron Gareth's signature Wind Arrow, the fact that Kobalt had formed a shield that could survive it was astounding. And something Nickole knew she had no hope of pulling off herself, her Aegis might be able to take the hit but she would be sent flying regardless.

Instead she slammed her foot to the ground as her father loosed his arrow, triggering her quake rune. When the arrow passed into the rune the increased gravity dragged it down to the ground in an instant. Nickole quickly crouched down, taking as much cover as she could behind her shield. An explosion of wind and smoke erupted from where the arrow hit the ground, carving a crater into the floor and pushing Nickole back a few inches from where she crouched. As the wind whirled in front of her, Nickole transformed Damocles into its rifle form and mounted it on her shield as the wind began to die down. She projected half a dozen of her acceleration runes along the length of the barrel and opened fire. The first few rounds hit her father with the force of a small rocket, shattering as they transferred all their energy into him. The rest were stopped as a large shield formed in front of her father.

"You're time at Beacon certainly has helped you improve." Faron said as he drew a smoking short sword from behind the shield. "Your brother took much longer to reach this point."

"There are a few differences between Auburn and I," Nickole laughed "I pay better attention for one."

"She also had a better teacher than I did." A voice rang out. Every eye in the room turned towards the doorway where Auburn slowly rolled himself into the room, a huge grin on his face.

"You're giving yourself too much credit son." Faron quipped, his eyes switching back to Nickole while hers did the same.

"Or perhaps not enough." Nickole countered "Besides, you were a terrible teacher dad."

"So I take it you actually remember what I taught you?" Auburn laughed

"Of course, victory through defeat." Nickole smirked.

As her father turned his head to Auburn with a question forming on his lips, Nickole rushed back in bringing her sword in from the side. Briefly caught off guard, her father took a step back and raised his shield. Her sword bounced off her father's shield and Faron quickly brought his own blade down on top of Nickole. She feigned not getting her shield up in time, letting the blow catch her in the shoulder and send her back.

 _When all else fails, make them think they've won._ Auburn's voice echoed in her head

This time Faron rushed her, thrusting his sword towards as he neared. Nickole deflected the attack with her own shield, gritting her teeth as she dealt with the pain of her plan. Sensing an opening her father shoved his shield into her gut, knocking the wind out of her and forcing her to retreat.

 _Make them move the way you want them to, make them think they're about to finish you off._

Nickole bent her head back as her father swept his blade where it had been a moment ago, not giving her a second to catch her breath. She focused entirely on dodging or blocking his attacks slowly moving towards her father's right side, where his shield was. When her father finally took the bait and tried to bash her with his shield. This time, Nickole got her own shield up in time, blocking her father's attack. As she withdrew, Nickole managed to place a large explosive rune on her father's shield. With an opportunity to counter attack, Nickole thrust her blade towards her father's head. Only to have it parried upwards by Faron's sword.

 _Let them think you've lost so by the time they realize the truth, you've already beaten them._

A grin spread across Nickole's face as her father parried her sword up and above his head. Moving before he could counter, Nickole threw an impact rune on the ground beneath her feet launching her upwards. Using the connection between her sword and her father's as a pivot point, Nickole flipped over her father's head, landing as the rune on her father's shield detonated and further disrupted his focus, causing it to vanish. Placing another impact rune on her foot, she bent forward and kicked upwards to her father's back sending him flying high up in the air. Leaving the rune on her foot, Nickole quickly placed her quake rune on the ground before jumping up to her father with the impact rune. She leapt above him just as the quake rune on the ground took effect, dragging them both down rapidly. Nickole bent her legs, angling them with her father just before they hit the ground causing both of her knees to be driven directly into her father's gut as they landed, shattering the floor.

As the rune faded, Nickole leapt off her father and sheathed her weapons. The rest of her family was looking at her wide eyed, clearly not able to believe what just happened. Auburn quickly shook off his awe and smiled while Lian's mouth just continued to drop further. Citrine Gareth on the other hand rushed to her husband as he struggled to sit up.

"That's…that's my girl." he breathed, shooting Nickole a large smile before slumping back down and lying on his back.

A/N

So not gonna lie, once I got Nickole's cast off I couldn't help but wonder when the last time she won a fight was. As far as combat goes she either handles Grimm with no sweat (so I don't count that), or she loses a one on one duel because she's distracted. She beat Kobalt in training way back in Chapter 7, but he was holding back. Then she loses to Luna and gets her legs broken by Ochre because her focus isn't 100% on the fight.

So I decided to finally let her go all out on someone who can take it. Plus I love writing for her fighting style, even if I'm still getting the hang of making it seem all planned out.

As always; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'll see you all in two weeks.


	45. Chapter 45: When in Atlas

"If I'm being completely honest," Kobalt began as he leaned back in his seat "I didn't think I'd have an occasion to wear this again."

"Well it would be a shame to leave a suit like that sitting in a closet." Sterling remarked as he took his own seat in the car. "And thank you for agreeing to come along with me, I'm sure this isn't the sort of thing you kids go for these days."

"I think it's less of an age thing and more of an upbringing thing." Kobalt said

"You say that, but your mother hated coming with me to these parties." Sterling cringed

"Perhaps if they had a more…legitimate purpose it would've been different." Kobalt added "No offense, but a seven year old's birthday? Isn't it a bit much to have an over the top party for something like that?"

"Yes well, it is an expectation of the Atlas upper class to host one even for such personal reasons." Sterling coughed

"I'm starting to see why my mother hated it so much, she doesn't much care for people who pretend to be someone they're not." Kobalt sighed "You know you could just decline the invitation."

"Lately I have been, but I can't in good conscience abandon an old friend to all the two faced fools attending her party." Sterling added

"Old friend?"

"In a manner of speaking." Sterling said "Apricot's father and I attended university together. I've known the girl most of her life, she's very innovative with medical technology."

"She's like a student to you." Kobalt realized, picking up on the proud tone in his grandfather's voice.

"I suppose she is." Sterling shrugged "She has her father's drive as a surgeon though, she'd never abandon the medical side of her work to further her studies in weaponry."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing." Kobalt told him

"Oh I never said it was." Sterling reassured him "Though she's one of only two people in Atlas I would feel confident could meet the expectation people have set of my work."

"That's high praise coming from a pioneer in weapon's technology." Kobalt noted "Who's the other person."

"My apprentice – I mean nephew." Sterling corrected "He certainly has the drive and capacity to learn."

"I sense a 'but' coming." Kobalt smiled

"He's almost too professional." Sterling sighed "I don't believe he would take the company in a direction it shouldn't, but I also can't see him turning down anyone either."

"I don't follow." Kobalt raised an eyebrow

"Do you know how many weapon commissions I've turned down because I felt they wouldn't hold up to my own expectations?" Sterling asked as he leaned forward in his seat, Kobalt merely shook his head "Hundreds. My name means something as far as weaponry, I don't mass produce handguns. I leave the simple weapons to my company, I only work on the best."

"I understand." Kobalt nodded "Once my memories started coming back, a part of me felt like I had to live up to my name. Only do things worthy of said name."

"Well the Wards have certainly left a lot to live up to." Sterling smiled "But from what I've heard you doing well for your age. Winning of the Vytal Festival Tournament, impressing the headmasters of both Beacon and Haven. Your name is certainly making waves."

"It's a start." Kobalt smiled as the car came to a stop.

"Mr. Grace, Mr. Ward, we've arrived." The chauffer announced opening the door for the two to get out.

"Thank you Eiche." Sterling said stepping out of the car "Take a few hours for yourself, I'll call you when we're ready to leave."

"Yes sir, do have a good night." Eiche added with a bow as Kobalt climbed out after his grandfather.

"Quite the house." Kobalt whispered as he took in the sight before him. When he heard the owner was a friend of his grandfather he assumed their home would be more modern and modest like the weapon smith's. What he got was quite literally the opposite, an excessively large classical manor, the only similarity between the two was the white colored walls. Kobalt followed close behind as his grandfather made his way to the front door. Once inside the two were greeted by an honest to god butler, something Kobalt couldn't wrap his head around.

"Greeting Mr. Grace, Mrs. Nut will be pleased to hear you've arrived." The butler bowed "Shall I inform her of your presence, or perhaps escort you to her personally?"

"No need." Sterling smiled "I know my way around well enough. Could you tell me where I might find her?"

"Of course, the party is being held in the third floor ballroom. You'll find Mrs. Nut amongst the guests." The butler informed them. "Do have a good evening."

"You as well." Sterling nodded before taking leave and leading Kobalt through the manor. Eventually his grandfather stopped in front of a set of double doors before turning to Kobalt.

"Brace yourself." He warned before pushing the doors open and walking through. Kobalt followed suit, immediately noticing the dozen or so conversations being held across the ballroom. The room itself was exactly what Kobalt had expected, tall white walls like the rest of the mansion with decorative gold trim going all the way up to the ceiling. A pair of large crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and what few tables were out were decorated with various bags or wrapped boxes.

 _This is a seven year old's birthday party?_ Kobalt thought as his eyes moved to the guests. _I don't even see anyone under the age of forty._

Kobalt shot his grandfather an inquisitive look, to which Sterling merely sighed and shrugged before he began making his way to the center of the ballroom. There Kobalt spotted a woman with light brown hair wearing a pale yellow dress, probably around his mother's age if he were to guess. She briefly looked in their direction before her eyes went wide and she ended her conversation with the man next to her before walking in Kobalt's direction.

"Sterling!" she exclaimed, briefly embracing Kobalt's grandfather "I'm so glad you could make it."

"You didn't think I'd abandon you, did you Apri?" Sterling laughed "How's your father?"

"Enjoying retirement." The woman laughed "I don't think he'd return from Vacuo for anything at this point."

"No I imagine not." Sterling nodded "Ah forgive me I nearly forgot, this grandson. Apri this is Kobalt Ward. Kobalt, this is Dr. Apricot Nut."

"A pleasure." Kobalt said with a light bow.

"Ooh a gentleman here in Atlas?" Apricot asked sarcastically

"This one isn't faking." Sterling added

"He must take after his mother then." Apricot smiled before turning back to Kobalt "Sera was always kind woman, I do hope she's enjoys Mistral. She never really liked Atlas."

"I hear it was less the location and more the populace." Kobalt noted "Perhaps if less people threw parties like this for such, personal occasions she might have stayed."

"No bark but quite the bite, just like your grandfather." Apricot chuckled "You'd be a terror here in Atlas. Tell me honestly though, how is your mother?"

"She's fine." Kobalt nodded "She's a professor at Haven, though I think Vale would've suited her better than Mistral."

"What makes you say that?" Sterling asked

"I attend Beacon remember?" Kobalt smiled "I know the kingdom fairly well, the prejudice I've seen rampant in Mistral and Atlas is nonexistent in Vale. People are more accepting of one another as well."

"I'm inclined to agree." Apricot sighed sadly before quickly returning to the cheerful look she had earlier. "But enough about all that, Sterling I don't see a gift for my daughter in your hands."

"You know me Apri, I prefer to ask her what she wants." Sterling countered "That way I can wish her a happy birthday as well."

"I'll see if I can't find her, she has a habit of wandering around during these parties." Apricot smiled "I miss the days when she would cling to her father's or my leg. But she'll be delighted to see you, please excuse me."

"Well she certainly likes you." Sterling laughed once Apricot was gone.

"She's definitely nicer than I expected." Kobalt added

"Yes she's a lot like your mother." Sterling nodded

"Then why does she stay in Atlas?" Kobalt asked "I doubt she fits in here."

"Well for one she almost seems to enjoy giving backhanded compliments." Sterling laughed "But in truth she didn't always, until a few years ago her family lived in—"

"Ah Sterling!" a voice called out behind the pair, and Kobalt could've sworn he saw a vein pop in his grandfather's forehead. "How good of you to join us."

"Jacques." Sterling said, turning around with an obviously forced smile on his face. Kobalt followed his gaze to in a full white suit with a white moustache and hair. Like Kobalt's grandfather this man too had a smile on his face, but his icy eyes shown with indifference.

"I was beginning to wonder if you had hurt yourself working, I'm surprised you haven't retired yet." Jacques added "Unlike me you actually look your age."

"Not injured no, but certainly busy with work," Sterling told him "What other reason could I have for not spending time with such… _fine_ individuals such as yourself."

"My thoughts exactly, now are you going to introduce me to your apprentice or does he not have a voice?" Jacques chuckled

"Why looking to steal him away?" Sterling asked

"I would never consider such a thing." Jacques feigned insult "But if he preferred my offer to yours…"

"It would make little difference." Kobalt spoke up as Jacques trailed off.

"Indeed, Jacques allow me introduce my grandson, Kobalt Ward. This is Jacques Schnee president of the Schnee Dust Company." Sterling smiled "Not my apprentice, but capable in his own way."

"I see, _Ward_." Jacques spoke with a noticeable sneer. "You must be a Huntsman then."

"Of sorts." Kobalt nodded "More of a military man in truth. I've never been one for the backstabbing business world, or the people in it."

"Well it's a shame General Ironwood isn't here to meet you then." Jacques added "If you'll excuse me it seems my drink needs refilling."

"He didn't have a drink in his hands." Kobalt noted once the businessman was out of view.

"The look on his face when he heard your name…" Sterling chuckled "You handled him well, I think you really infuriated him."

"I certainly hope so." Kobalt smiled, briefly dropping the persona he had kept up so far.

"I don't suppose you could manage on your own for a while?" Sterling asked "As much as I hate people like Jacques, there are some business owners here I ought to speak with."

"I'll be fine." Kobalt assured him "If Mr. Schnee is as bad as they come I think I can handle the rest of these people."

Handle, yes. Enjoy handling was a different thing entirely. Within half an hour Kobalt was already starting to get annoyed with some of the people at this party. He could tell after the first few words that the person he was speaking with was either two faced or just plain conceited. Save for Apricot there didn't seem to be all that many people here worth talking to. Most of the attendees seemed to be here solely to keep up appearances, whatever few weren't Kobalt suspected his grandfather had business with. Either that or they were doing their best to stay clear of strangers and not risk dealing with someone like Jacques. So after he had decided he was tired of it all, Kobalt ordered a drink and moved over to one of the tall windows away from the rest of the guests. If there was one positive thing Kobalt could say about Atlas, it would be that the view of the city at night was simply breathtaking. Sure, Vale had skyscrapers and Mistral was beautifully built into the mountain. But Atlas stood tall and proud, carved into the harsh ice caps and lit amazingly in white and light blue. The city visibly pulsated with life and light as Kobalt looked on, and he couldn't help but think of how much he would rather be out there than stuck at this party.

"It's quite captivating isn't it?" a feminine voice rang out behind him, drawing Kobalt's attention as its owner walked up to the other side of the window.

Now standing opposite him was a young woman, likely a few years older than Kobalt himself, with snow white hair wearing a pale blue evening gown. Her hair was tied up in a bun with her bangs falling over one side of her face. Like Kobalt she too had a drink in her hand, a tall martini glass half drained. But it was her eyes that stuck out to Kobalt, light blue like ice. But unlike the man Kobalt had spoken to earlier, these ones had a certain, genuineness, to them. As though the physical similarities between the two were all they shared.

"One would think after living here their entire life, a person would eventually see something like that as just another cityscape." She added "But even after all these years I still love looking out my window at night."

"I can't say I blame you." Kobalt smiled before taking a sip from his drink "It has a bit of a mysticism to it, doesn't it?"

"It does, but I think for it serves a reminder of what we're trying to protect." The woman went on

"We?" Kobalt asked

"Oh come now, I can tell from your posture that you're Atlas military." She said finishing her glass "What branch are you? I'd say reconnaissance but you strike as more of a front lines field agent."

 _Well you're not all that far off._ Kobalt thought with a light chuckle.

"None of the above I'm afraid." He told her "I'm not even a member of the military."

"Really? I must've mistaken you for someone else. In that case I believe proper introductions are in order" the woman said, extending her free hand "Winter Schnee, Atlas Special Operations."

"Kobalt Ward, Beacon." He said, instincts kicking in as he took her hand in a gentleman's handshake, head bowing slightly before releasing it.

"Ah, so that's why I recognized you." Winter smiled as she withdrew her hand "You recently won the Vytal Festival Tournament."

"If you're hoping for a signature I'm afraid I don't have a pen on me." Kobalt chuckled "And from the looks of that dress neither do you."

The heartwarming laugh the escaped Winter's lips for a few short seconds was enough to help Kobalt forget about the people he had been dealing with the past half hour. Either this woman was an incredible actor, or she was exactly what she seemed to be. Or perhaps she had just enough to drink to loosen up, underneath the smile Kobalt could see a few short glimpses of a serious and professional individual.

"And here I was assuming I'd be dealing with my father's associates for most of the evening." Winter added "I was going to say that was a very impressive duel you had in the finals, your opponent was quite skilled."

"Of course, he made it to the final round didn't he?" Kobalt nodded

"Not only that, but as a specialist I have access to all Atlas Academy student records." Winter continued "His opponent in the previous match, Ziel is top of his class. I had recommended his admission into our front line division in Special Operations."

"He certainly seemed talented." Kobalt agreed "Though perhaps a bit unadaptable. He didn't seem prepared for Furi."

"Well we never stop learning do we?" Winter asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"No, we most definitely do not." Kobalt agreed

"So, a student from Beacon that looks the part of an Atlas military official." Winter began "I take it there is a story there somewhere?"

"I suppose I take after my parents in strange ways." Kobalt shrugged "My mother is from Atlas, hence my appearance."

"And your father?"

"You haven't met many Wards I take it?" Kobalt asked

"Counting you, only one." Winter nodded

"Well if my father is to be believed we all have a very militant way of carrying ourselves." Kobalt told her "Combine my Ward upbringing with my Grace heritage and I suppose you have your answer."

"Grace? As in—"

"Sterling Grace is my grandfather." Kobalt finished for her "I'm here with him tonight."

"Interesting, he made my little sister's rapier." Winter commented

"Well I think she'll be quite pleased with it." Kobalt said "Of course I think my grandfather was a little bored working on it."

"Really? It seemed like a complicated design to me." Winter raised an eyebrow

"I thought so as well, and then I saw some of my grandfather's other weapons." Kobalt said finishing his own drink, the second he was done a waiter came by and handed him a new one. Maybe he could get used to this. "I was surprised by the complexity of some, and most of them have a custom power core to boot."

"He must really enjoy his work then." Winter said

"I think so, he takes pride in it at the very least." Kobalt nodded

"Well from what I saw in the tournament he didn't design your weapon." Winter noticed "Why is that?"

"I didn't undergo the usual Ward training that would've taken me to him." Kobalt admitted "I didn't even go through any sort of traditional training."

"Oh really, well if you don't mind my asking; what kind of training did you partake in?" Winter asked

Kobalt berated himself for saying as much as he had, in hindsight he never should have mentioned training in the first place. But as it stood right now he could either tell the truth or try and come up with some big lie. Knowing Black Knight it was entirely possible that there were spies within the Atlas Military, and Kobalt couldn't help but wonder if this woman was one of them. But then something popped into his head, _Schnee._ If there was one thing he remembered about Atlas, it was that no Schnee would willing play such a minor role as spy. And they certainly wouldn't answer to someone like the Chairman.

"There may be another reason you mistook me for an Atlas official. How high is your security clearance?" Kobalt checked, his decision relatively made.

"Very, why do you ask?" Winter asked, clearly growing suspicious.

"Have you heard anything about Black Knight?" Kobalt continued

"I'm afraid not." Winter sighed "I came across the name a single time, and was immediately locked out of the file."

"Yeah that sounds about right." Kobalt chuckled "Well let's just say the two of us could trade some war stories."

"I get the feeling there are things we're not allowed to tell one another." Winter added

"Well then we'll just have to keep things vague." Kobalt countered "Would you care to start?"

"Why not." Winter shrugged "Let's see…a little under a year ago I was sent to Anima to preform threat analysis on group of potentially hostile fighters. Around this time the entire branch had been working around the clock so I had been sleeping in the airships on route to the mission area."

"Understandable." Kobalt said "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't done the same."

"Well everything about the mission was going according to plan, we dropped in the center of a forest and I made my way further south to an overlook to scout out the enemy force." Winter went on "At first I thought whoever handled the analysis of the landscape hadn't been as accurate as possible, because the overlook was a much steeper cliff than I had in mind. But that proved to be a good thing as I could see the entire encampment from my position."

"I'm getting the feeling this wasn't a good thing. How bad?" Kobalt asked

"Worse than intelligence had led me to believe. They even seemed to be preparing for an attack on a local village." Winter sighed "So I did the only reasonable thing in my position, I rushed into the based to prevent an attack on civilians. I must have knocked out thirty men before I finally reached their leader. I had his back to wall and told him very calmly that he just spent his last day in Anima."

"Sounds like business as usual to me." Kobalt noticed

"I thought so as well," Winter smiled "that was when the leader looked at me and said 'Anima? What the hell are you on about? We're in Sanus!'"

"You're joking." Kobalt said as his eyes went wide.

"As I said, the entire branch was working around the clock." Winter finished "While I had been sleeping in the back, the airship pilot had received the wrong briefing. He had taken me to Sanus by mistake, it was pure luck that there had been any hostiles in the area at all."

"That's incredible." Kobalt shook his in disbelief.

"Indeed." Winter agreed "Now I do believe it's your turn."

"Fair enough, mine is also a year ago. Remember back when that Dust refinery west of Mantle was taken hostage?" Kobalt asked, thinking back to one of the few missions he considered fun.

"Of course, that was the terrorist debut that led to us working around the clock." Winter nodded "Our top squad was getting prepped to storm the refinery when we found out the assailants had been elimina…that was you?"

"Me and my partner actually." Kobalt shrugged "Command was bickering over how to handle it, they weren't sure if your specialists could keep the whole place from going up in smoke."

"So where do you come in?" Winter asked, her face twisted in disbelief.

"Me and my partner, Sable, were waiting on the glacier behind the refinery. We knew the call was going come down to go in soon, but it was already taking too long and something about the way the refinery was taken didn't seem right to me." Kobalt began "First off they kept moving their hostages around, as if it would slow Atlas down when you finally stormed in. I think we both know that's not true, more likely they wanted your attention focused on them. Second, scans showed an abnormal heat signature in the refinery tower. Given its size and location I had a pretty good guess as to what it was."

"A bomb." Winter said, her eyes widening slightly. "But that refinery was too far away from any settlement to cause any damage if it exploded."

"It's not always about causing physical damage." Kobalt corrected "If a refinery of that size went offline for any reason, the economic impact would be felt for miles. And given its proximity to Mantle…"

"The city would've fallen even further into ruin." Winter realized "But why target Mantle at all? It serves little strategic value."

"You need to study a bit more." Kobalt sighed "The explanation you're looking for is called the domino effect. Take out a refinery and Mantle crumbles further, Mantle falls and where do they turn for aid?"

"Atlas of course." Winter said

"At that point there are two things that could happen. One, Atlas helps the people of Mantle but now with one major city of the kingdom supporting another the economy falls further. It would be slow but its effects would weaken Atlas years down the line." Kobalt concluded

"You said there were two things that could happen." Winter reminded him "What was the second?"

"It was less likely, but I figured there was a possibility that Atlas might turn its back on Mantle." Kobalt said sadly "Mantle has a large population of Faunas, and Atlas isn't known for its fair treatment of them. Left to fend for themselves, it was likely they may have risen up against Atlas."

"And the Faunas War would've started all over again." Winter agreed

"Like I said, less likely. The Atlas council is smart enough to see that possibility." Kobalt said, omitting the fact that they might be shortsighted enough not to care.

"You figured out all that after seeing a bomb in the refinery?" Winter asked

"After that and seeing how the higher up were acting when everything started. So I made the call myself, I told Sable we were going in." Kobalt explained

"You defied orders?"

"Technically we had no orders to follow." Kobalt smirked, remembering how he explained everything to the Chairman. "We were told to report to the glacier, but not to await further instruction. Basically, some officer above us screwed up and we had leave to act as we saw fit."

"Someone was court marshalled for that." Winter scoffed "How'd you get in?"

"Scaled down the glacier, then we made our way in through the air ducts. Reports estimated somewhere between thirty and forty hostiles scattered throughout the refinery. So we started in the basement and made our way up floor by floor clearing as we went." Kobalt smiled, thinking back to how quickly he and Sable cleared through the building. They had been unstoppable back then, the perfect team. "We split up once we reached the floor with the hostages, Sable went for them while I went for the bomb. She cleared them out pretty quickly and captured the enemy commander, meanwhile I ran into some trouble at the tower."

"What kind of trouble?"

"A rogue Huntsman and what looked like a pair of ex-military troopers. Frankly none of them were very well trained." Kobalt laughed "The Huntsman put up a fight, but I burned through them and made it to the bomb. Before I could even get on the coms to find out how to disarm it the counter started ticking down."

"Well we both know the refinery is still in one piece." Winter smiled "So how'd you stop it?"

"I didn't. Sable had just contacted me to say that she had captured the leader but he had triggered the bomb's detonation sequence before she could stop him. When I asked her if she could stop the bomb she said the leader had destroyed the trigger mechanism." Kobalt explained "I cut her off before she could go on and told her to get the hostages under some kind of cover. Then I poured what was left of my Aura into a shield around the bomb to try and minimize the blast. I saw the timer reach ten and closed my eyes, waiting for it to go off. That ten seconds felt like an eternity let me tell you."

"There was never a report of any explosion in the refinery." Winter hummed

"Yeah well, thing is after about fifteen seconds I opened my eyes to see the timer had stopped at nine." Kobalt admitted "Then Sable came back on the line shouting 'If you had let me finish I was about to say I can hack into their system and disable the bomb that way!'"

"Sounds like she saved your ass." Winter smiled

"Wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last." Kobalt agreed

"A very impressive story, but I can't help but wonder," Winter noted "How old were you?"

"Seventeen." Kobalt told her "I'm eighteen now, almost nineteen."

"You successfully diffused a hostage and defeated a Huntsman in combat at the age of seventeen?" Winter asked "What are you doing at Beacon?"

"I've got a few…personal reasons for being there." he hesitated, talking about a mission had made him feel better but he wasn't sure if telling the whole tale would. "It's a long story, and one I don't particularly—"

Kobalt was cut off by the sound of his scroll going off in his inner pocket. He reached inside to see Nickole's name pop up on the caller ID. He smiled lightly before turning back to Winter.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I need to take this." Kobalt apologized "We'll have to continue this another time."

"Certainly, it's been a pleasure." Winter replied

"All mine." Kobalt bowed slightly before walking away and answering the call.

"Hey Nickole, could you give me a bit to find somewhere more private?" Kobalt asked as soon as he brought the scroll to his ear.

"Yeah sure, don't want the Atlas nobles to hear you talking so informally?" Nickole laughed

"Something along those lines." Kobalt chuckled as he wandered the ballroom looking for the exit. "This would be easier if I knew where to—"

Cut off once more Kobalt took a moment to figure out what happened. He was pretty sure he had just walked into someone, but there wasn't anyone close to him. Then something clicked in the back of his head causing him to look down. A young girl, barely coming up to his waist stood looking up at him. She was wearing a pale pink dress with her hair braided in a sort of crown on the back of her head. Taking a guess at her age, and given the light brown color of her hair Kobalt was pretty sure he knew who this was. Unfortunately she was looking up at him in shock, and if he wasn't mistaken small bit of fear as well.

 _Well we can't have that now, can we?_ Kobalt mused as he knelt down to eye level with the girl.

"Sorry about that." Kobalt apologized with a smile as his free hand moved to cover the receiver on his scroll. "I was so busy looking for the way out I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's okay, most people tonight haven't even noticed it when they bump into me." the young girl spoke softly.

"Well that's just not right." Kobalt shook his head "You are the birthday girl aren't you?"

"How'd you know?"

"Well for one thing you look just like your mother." Kobalt chuckled before he leaned in to whisper "But honestly how many other kids do you see here? Cause I mostly see stuffy old people."

The young girl brought her hand to her mouth to suppress the giggle that started bubbling up.

 _Poor girl, I get the feeling that the first time she's laughed since this party began._ Kobalt thought.

"My names Kobalt, Kobalt Ward." He smiled, extending his hand for a brief moment. When the girl reached out and took it, he briefly felt something spark when she made contact. Something familiar.

"A pleasure to meet you, my name is Hazel Nut." She introduced upon shaking his hand.

"Well happy birthday Hazel." Kobalt said honestly "This may seem a strange question, but did your family used to live in Halcyon by any chance?"

"Yeah we did, how did you know?" Hazel asked, suddenly warry.

"I thought so, I'd been there a few times myself." Kobalt said, confirming his suspicions "I've got a special birthday gift for you by the way, I picked it up on a hunch, but I think you'll love it."

"Really? Is it with the rest of them?" Hazel beamed

"I'm afraid not, I didn't plan on giving it as a gift," Kobalt admitted "But I think it's perfect for you, I'll have to stop by tomorrow to give it to you. In the meantime do you think you could show me the way out, I need to take this call."

"Sure, head towards the banner with my family's symbol on it." Hazel pointed to the far end of the room "The stairs are on the other side."

"Thank you very much, hopefully I'll have a chance to say goodbye before I leave." Kobalt said as he stood up and made his way over towards the door.

"What was that about?" Nickole asked once Kobalt put the scroll back to his ear after stepping outside and back in the crisp evening air. Even outside the ballroom he felt like he was being watched, so he went as far as to step outside the building.

"Just the birthday girl." Kobalt told her "It's her party."

"She sounded pretty young." Nickole noted

"Seven." He told her

"Atlas." Nickole scoffed on the other end "You must be pretty glad I got you out of there."

"Yes and no." Kobalt chuckled "I was just talking with an Atlas military operative, it was refreshing after dealing with all the business owners in there."

"Sounds like a conversation right up your alley Blue." Nickole added

Hazel sighed as she slowly walked through the ballroom. Save for the short conversation she had with Kobalt, she hadn't spoken with anyone all night. She had learned years ago that people didn't come to these parties for her, they came for the sake of being seen by others. And if Haze had her way, she'd have just sat in her room all night drawing. It wouldn't have made a difference, no one even knew she was here.

"I do have to say, it was the most interesting commission I've had in years." A familiar voice spoke up as Hazel moved through the room.

 _Grandpa Sterling!_ Hazel realized turning to the source of the voice, she saw a few dozen feet away from her. But the color from her face drained when she saw who he was talking to. Jacques Schnee. That man scared her more than anyone else.

"Well of course, I spared no expense for my daughter." Schnee said

"Well you may have paid for it, but it was your daughter's design." Sterling added "Smart girl, only had to change a few things to make it work. And a clever design no less, as I said the most interesting one in years."

"Didn't I offer to hire to craft my other daughter's weapon?" Schnee asked

"Did you? I'm afraid I don't remember." Sterling went on "That would've been ages ago, but I remember there were a few years back then where the requests I got were so bland I turned them down without batting an eye."

"Bland you say, is that so?"

"Of course, you should know this Jacques." Sterling smiled "Quality beats quantity, did Nicholas not teach you that before he handed over the company? If the quality of work falls below our standards than it's not as valuable."

Hazel quickly walked away, wishing to get as far away from Jacques Schnee as possible. She'd just wait until Sterling was done speaking with Schnee and then find him again. Instead she made her way over to the balcony, preferring to watch the city then the people in her home. If only she had her sketchbook, the city of Atlas seemed even brighter than usual tonight and the light snowfall made it look amazing. She was so absorbed in thought she barely register the noise of someone walking up behind her.

But even she couldn't have missed the feel of the stranger's hand shoot down and squeezing her small rabbit tail through her dress. Hazel let out a small shriek as she jumped and turned around to see the man looking down on her, and almost evil grin on his face. He had on a plain black suit and his pale brown hair was tied back into a thin tail that rested over his shoulder. A dozen questions rushed through Hazel's mind as she stood there in shock. Who was he? Why did he do that? Who invited him? But most importantly, how did he know?

"Looks like the boss was right, the doc's kid's a Faunus." the man laughed as he spoke. Hazel could already tell he wasn't supposed to be here, the way he talked wasn't like anyone else at the party. "What are the odds? Guess I owe him some lien."

"W-what do you want?" Hazel managed to squeak out as her back pressed against the railing on the balcony.

"Simple, you're going to come with me little girl." the man said plainly, drawing a small silver stick from his jacket "Then my friends are going to take a few pictures of that tail of yours. After that it's all up to your mother."

As he spoke the stick in his hands expanded rapidly, and as Hazel saw the bladed end pop out at the top she realized she'd much rather deal with Schnee.

"Look kid, I don't want to hurt you." the man insisted "So don't make me and just come quietly."

Hazel's fear had completely stolen her ability to speak, but somehow she found herself able to move. She shook her head so fast she nearly got dizzy, then before the man in front of her could do anything she grabbed onto the edge of the railing. Acting on instinct she pulled herself up and rolled over the side, dropping into the front courtyard.

"What?!" Hazel heard the man shout as she plummeted to the ground. She had no idea what she was thinking, they were three stories and the snow wasn't exactly going to cushion her fall. She had just closed her eyes to start praying when she felt herself hit something soft, the moment she did it no longer felt like she was falling but instead flying upwards. She opened her eyes to see the light white face of a man with a scar running over one of his blue eyes. Jet black hair flowed behind his head and his eyes squinted to see with the wind and snow hitting them. In the back of her mind Sable could tell she knew this man, but with everything that had just happened she couldn't focus well enough to recall his name.

Their ascent rapidly shifted back to a fall, but when they hit the ground she didn't even feel the force travel through the person holding her. She quickly pushed herself out of his arms and ran for the front door to her home. If she could just find one of the staff…

"I said I didn't want to hurt you kid!" a voice shouted about her, Hazel looked up to see the man with the spear descending on her with the point aim right towards her. "Blame this on yourself!"

By the time Hazel realized just how close he was, his spear was mere inches away from her leg. She had no idea what she was going to do now. That was when she felt another presence behind her, and heard a loud cling and the man with the spear was quickly pushed away. Standing between Hazel and her kidnapper was the same man who had just saved her from her fall, and dull grey sword held in his right hand as his left gently pushed Hazel back. Now with a moment to breathe, his name finally popped into her head. Kobalt.

"You alright?" he asked, Hazel merely nodded and Kobalt turned his attention over to her would be kidnapper.

 _Talk about right place right time._ Kobalt thought as he shifted his stance to prepare for an attack. He didn't know much about the man standing across from him, but he knew spear wielders. It was always speed or strength with them, Justin being the one combination of the two Kobalt had ever met. Given the thinness of his new opponent's spear Kobalt put his money on speed.

"I'd don't suppose you'd be willing to just walk away?" Kobalt asked "I won't blame you for turning tail and running."

"Yeah like I'm gonna be scared of some Atlas kid with a sword in his hands." the man laughed "Your daddy buy you that piece?"

"You don't watch much TV do you?" Kobalt chuckled "What's your name?"

"How about you just call me Mr. White?" he added as he lowered his stance close to the ground. "Or better yet how about you just get out of my way."

"Not a chance." Kobalt told him, keep his blade low and ready for the charge.

"Your funeral punk!" White shouted as he dashed forward. Kobalt nearly laughed as he closed the distance, he was even slower than Justin when they first began training.

He quickly brought his blade up, knocking White's spear up high with hardly any effort. Kobalt smirked as he noted a look of surprise on White's face before kicking him square in the chest and sending him back to where he started. Whoever this man was, it was already painfully obvious to Kobalt that he had no formal training. Maybe against most opponents his speed would be enough for him to get a quick hit in, but with Black Knight's training under his belt White may as well have been moving in slow motion.

But as much as he would've loved to go on the offensive and knock his opponent out immediately, Kobalt had to remember the young girl standing behind him. Hazel was clearly White's objective, he had mentioned not wanting to hurt her earlier. And if Kobalt slipped up for even a second, it would give him a chance to grab or hurt Hazel. And Kobalt refused to let that happen. So instead he settled in a reactionary mindset, prepared to counter any and all attacks that came towards him. White dashed back in again, this time swinging his spear from the side. Kobalt stepped forward, blocking the attack with his sword and letting White think he might overpower him. As White tried to push in on him, Kobalt slammed his head into White's face hearing a resounding crack as he made contact. White jumped back, hand held to his nose as blood leaked out of it.

"Damn kid, this is what I get for playing nice." White mumbled as his Aura activated, flashing a quick grey before disappearing.

 _He started the fight without his Aura up?_ Kobalt smirked. _Boy is he overconfident._

"I don't like killing people, so when you go down, stay down." White warned "I'm not playing around anymore."

"If that's the case would you like me to get serious too?" Kobalt asked, half tempted to go into overdrive just to see White's reaction.

"Cocky little brat aren't you?" White asked as he moved forward with a heavy step.

To his credit, White moved faster this time around. His thrust was quicker and held more power behind it as well. But Kobalt had been ready since the moment White moved an inch, he raised his free hand catching the shaft of White's spear in it. Before White could react Kobalt sliced upwards with Durandal and cleaving through White's Aura. He quickly dropped his elbow, bringing it down onto White's shoulder with the minimum amount of force Kobalt knew would still hurt. White tried to return the favor, yanking his spear from Kobalt's grasp and swinging it wildly around in what could've been a decent string of attacks. If this guy had received any real training he might actually be a challenge.

But Kobalt could read his every move, White's body clearly telegraphed where and how he was going to strike. Durandal became a blur, whirling around his body as he blocked each and every one of White's strikes before parrying the spear down causing both weapons to carve into to the snow. Kobalt stepped forward lightly with a quick palm strike to White's chest, forcing him back once again.

"Who the hell are you kid?" White asked, his breathing labored as he leaned forward probably considering another attack.

"Kobalt Ward." He told the man.

"Alright then Kobalt Ward, there a reason you've been toying with me for so long?" White asked as he regained composure and settled into a more relaxed stance.

"Actually yes." Kobalt smirked as he heard the sirens approaching in the distance.

"Clever kid, pretty clever." White admitted "I guess this is where I take my leave."

White quickly turned around to start running, but Kobalt wasn't planning on letting him go so easily. He rushed White while his back was turned, raising Durandal in both hands next to his head.

"I don't think so." Kobalt warned before his blade moved forward. White managed to turn around and get his spear up in time to block, but the force of it staggered him so much he went rolling in the snow as he took the hit.

"What the hell?!" White shouted as he stood back up "You went from toying with me to trying to kill me pretty damn fast!"

"Not exactly, but you're not getting away." Kobalt told him as police cars swarmed the road in front of the house. "You turn your back on me and I'll take you down before you can blink."

"Looks like I got no other choice." White growled as he dug his spear into the snow. He spun rapidly, kicking up a huge cloud a white that covered most of the courtyard. Kobalt fell back and dropped to a knee to protect Hazel, one hand gently pushing her behind him.

By the time the snow settled, White was gone without a trace. Hazel fortunately was fine, clinging on to Kobalt's arm as he dispelled Durandal. Now that things had calmed down he saw she was shivering in the cold, he quickly took his jacket off and wrapped it around the young girl.

"You alright?" Kobalt asked, Hazel nodded pulling his jacket tighter around herself.

 _Hell of a birthday_. Kobalt thought as looked at the poor girl.

"Thanks, Mr. Kobalt." Hazel whispered, breaking Kobalt's line of thought.

"Don't mention it, I'm just glad I was here." Kobalt smiled "And you can just call me Kobalt. I'm going to go talk to the police, you should go find your parents."

"Okay." Hazel shivered again as Kobalt stood up. He barely made it down the walkway to the police when Hazel called out his name again. He turned to see her carrying something coated in snow in her hand.

"Is this yours?" she asked, holding it up to him. What little color there was in Kobalt's face drained as he saw what it was. It was his scroll, and the call with Nickole was still going.

"Yeah, must've dropped when I saw you falling." Kobalt smiled awkwardly as he braced himself for the other girl he'd be talking to in a second.

"Nickole, you still there?" Kobalt asked hesitantly

"What in the Winds is going on over there?" Nickole nearly shouted on her end.

"I might've just stopped a kidnapping." Kobalt muttered

"Jeez, you just find trouble whenever you go don't you Blue?" Nickole chuckled

"I think it finds me actually." Kobalt sighed "Sorry but can I call you back? I should go give a report to the officers here."

"You better call me back." Nickole warned "And…good work Mr. Knight."

"Oh god, what's with you and nicknames?" Kobalt chuckled

A/N

Long chapter this time around, couple of reasons for it too.

1.) I couldn't pass up the fight scene at the end, I don't know where I got the idea but I liked the idea of Kobalt fighting someone weaker than him but still being disadvantaged by having to protect someone. It was short, and Kobalt eventually decided to stop playing around, but I had fun writing it.

2.) It features a couple of cameos, simple ones that can be retconed if need be, as well as a preview of the side chapter featuring Sable. It won't get a number, in fact it might even be a separate story here on FF and go on to feature more flashback chapters.

3.) With my new job I don't have as much time to write these days as I'd like. So little in fact that I made this chapter long because of the bad news about to come.

Said bad news, with how little time I have to write, I've fallen REALLY far behind in writing for KNGT. So far behind in fact, that I'm going to have to put posting new chapters on hiatus until I can catch up. This does not at all mean that the story is over, I have too much planned for these characters to let it die here. But until I can get more time to write and edit, chapters won't be going every other Friday like that have been. Instead I'll be taking a break, for what I hope wont be any longer than a month or two and then I'll be back to posting. When new chapters come out again, they might come out less often. Hopefully I'll only be back to my old once a month, if it's any longer than that i'll be disappointing in myself.

In the meantime; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'll see you "when I see you."


	46. Chapter 46: Field Work

It was everything Tristan could do not to tap his foot as he waited in the Captain's office at the 9th Precinct. Captain Thorn, a tall balding white man in his late forty's, was going over Tristan's application. He hoped it looked decent enough, Amber had helped him write it up and even coached him through some basic interview techniques. She had gone as far as to have him trim his hair down a few inches and wear a suit jacket today.

 _If you're working with detectives you should look the part._ Amber had mentioned. Tristan on the other hand was fairly certain she had seen to many TV crime dramas.

"So," Captain Thorn started, looking up from Tristan application. "Why do you want this internship?"

"Well I've still got a good amount of time before I head back to Beacon." Tristan told him "And I figured it would be good to get some more experience under my belt. A friend of my said I'd be pretty good for taking down criminals."

"Well your application is much more impressive than what we usually get." Thorn added "Frankly you'd be wasted in the program we have college students. I think I have something else in mind."

"Sir?" Tristan asked as Thorn stood up and opened the door to his office.

"Fields, I need a word." Thorn called out into the precinct. A moment later, a man slightly taller than Tristan walked in. Short cropped brown hair and a dark jacket on, this man looked like what Amber probably imagined detectives did.

"Something I can do for you sir?" the man asked before looking over at Tristan. "Who's this?"

"Your new assignment." The Captain told him.

"Excuse me?"

"Tristan Glaucous meet detective Nathan Fields." Thorn introduced "You'll be working with him instead of our robbery detectives."

"Sir with all due respect, I'm no babysitter." Fields stated "And I need a partner, not an intern."

"Tristan here is a Beacon student." Thorn added "And better trained than eighty percent of our recruit detectives."

"Beacon? Okay, **that** I can work with" Fields said turning to Tristan and extending his hand. "Nathan Fields, major crimes."

"Nice to meet you, when do we begin?" Tristan asked, slowly wondering what kind of pull he might have as a licensed Huntsman. If he was getting this much as a student, things would certainly get interesting once he graduated.

"Later, first we need to get you a pass." Captain Thorn weighed in. "Fields take him down to HR and brief him on what he should know."

"Roger that sir, follow me." Fields nodded leading Tristan out of the office and won a few flights of stairs.

"Brief him." Fields scoffed when they reached the stairs. "No clue what he thinks I should brief you on, my partner didn't teach me a thing when I moved up to detective."

"I probably just need to know a few basic things." Tristan shrugged "I can figure out the rest on my own. What kind of stuff should I know that my own training hasn't covered?"

"Basic police protocol I guess. And a few of our unspoken rules." Fields sighed "Chief among them, don't screw with forensics. We go into a crime scene, you wear gloves and you don't touch anything without checking with me first."

"That sounds pretty standard." Tristan noted

"We've had our share of idiots who contaminate crime scenes on their first case." Fields chuckled "Another thing, don't drink the coffee from the break room."

"Bad?" Tristan asked

"Not exactly, about a year ago half the precinct was working around the clock to deal with the White Fang radicalizing." Fields told him "I don't know how but some of the officers rigged the coffee machine to help them work late. Now whenever someone has that coffee you can see them vibrate. Plus we can't fix it."

"That's hysterical." Tristan laughed as they entered human resources.

"Shelly!" Fields calls out with a smile on his face as he walks towards the receptionist, a young woman with light black hair. "Can you do me a favor and get this guy a temp badge?"

"Temp badge?" She asked looking Tristan over "What you finally get a partner and it's only going to be temporary?"

"Not a partner, an intern." Fields corrects "Tristan here is a Beacon student."

"Really, what do they want you to do with him?" Shelly laughed "Send him in first and do all your work for you?"

"Ouch." Fields laughs "Thorn thinks he's too good for the regular internship, and frankly I could use someone with a bit more training out there."

"Consider it done, but you owe me." Shelly smiled "Come on, let's get your picture. And I'm going to need your full name."

"Tristan Glaucous." He told her as she guided him into the next room and backed him up against and solid white wall.

"Glaucous, you know Gino Glaucous?" She asked, quickly snapping a picture.

"He's my father so I hope so." Tristan told her "I take it you know him?"

"Couple of the crisis response boys keep pestering me to get him in here for a seminar on marksmanship." Shelly sighed moving over to a computer and hitting a few keys before she moved over to what looked like a printer "He really that good?"

"He's not bad." Tristan shrugged "Keeps insisting I'm better."

"Maybe we should have you do it while were here then." Shelly smirked, pulling a few pieces of laminated paper out of the printer and sliding them into a leather badge.

"Not today at least." Fields weighed in as Shelly handed Tristan his temporary badge. "We've got a chase."

"That was fast." Tristan noted.

"Lesson one, crime doesn't rest." Fields said as Tristan followed him back out of HR.

"And lesson two?"

"Neither do we." Fields smirked.

"You and my team leader would get along great." Tristan sighed as they reached the garage.

A short car ride later Tristan stepped out of Fields car a few steps away from the crime scene. Already uniformed officers were combing the area, searching for evidence and blocking Tristan's line of sight down the alley. Before Tristan could move in however, Fields pulled him off to the side.

"Look, I was hoping for something a bit cleaner for your first case." He started "But we've got a homicide on our hands. Can you handle that?"

"I've seen a dead body or two already detective." Tristan sighed as he pushed his way past Fields and flashed his badge to the officer guarding the alley, reminding himself to put gloves on as he went in. Fields followed suit and made his way onto the scene before Tristan could. But now Tristan was able to get a better look at the scene, and the body. Even from here Tristan could see blood over the dead man's face, but there wasn't much. His mind started jumping to possible explanations, single strike, probably died instantly, or strong enough to knock him to the ground and his head hitting the pavement was what killed him.

 _Damn, Nickole must be getting to me_. Tristan realized with a shake of his head. He approached the body a little behind Fields just as the detective greeted the medical examiner.

"What've you got for me Oak?" Fields asks, kneeling down next to the body. Poring over the body was a dark skinned man with thin glasses and buzzed black hair. He had just slid some kind of tool back into his bag as the pair came over.

"We'll I can tell you more once I get him back to the morgue." The man sighed "But it's pretty clear it was a bullet that killed him. Single shot, right in the forehead."

"Anything else?" Fields asked "Time of death, maybe the type of gun?"

"Well given his body temp, I'd say he's been dead about three hours." Oak adds "As for the type of gun, it's a small entry and exit wound so that suggests a small caliber. Given my experience I'd say it was a handgun."

"That's not necessarily true." Tristan spoke up

"Who's this, new partner?" Oak raised an eyebrow. "I know it's not bring your kid to work day, besides you don't have a son."

"Long story, kid's a Huntsman in training." Fields shrugged "Go on Tristan."

"There are a few long range rifles out there that use the smaller caliber rounds associated with handguns. They're not too hard to get a hold of." Tristan explained "Half of them are even internally suppressed. Atlas makes some pretty cheap ones too."

"True, but you'll find in most cases that the killer doesn't go to such lengths." Fields argued.

"And I'd agree with you, if it weren't for that." Tristan said, pointing to the wall in the back of the alley. A small spray of blood had coated a portion of it red, it was already drying too unlike some of the blood pooling around the victim's head.

"Long range rifles fire rounds at much higher speeds than a pistol." Tristan went on "And they bring more blood on the way out too with those speeds."

"That wall is what, fifteen feet back?" Fields asked a nearby officer.

"About that." The officer nodded

"Get an exact distance, might help narrow down the type of gun." Fields ordered "And start canvasing the building across the street. Nice catch kid."

"Don't bank on me being right just yet." Tristan mentioned "Killer still could've fired from up close."

"He's got a long range rifle and he fires at close range?" Oak chuckled "Why would he do that?"

"Surprise." Tristan said "Wasn't expecting to shoot anyone, but he'd have to be a good shot. I've been in that situation before, nearly missed."

"Grimm ambush?" Fields asked

"Not exactly." Tristan grimaced.

"Alright, we got an ID on the vic?" Fields asked with a grunt as he pushes himself to his feet.

"According to his wallet, he's Cedar Wilks." Oaks said as he handed Fields the wallet in question. "Thirty two years old, lives a few blocks north of here."

"Get a team to his place and lock it down." Fields ordered another nearby officer, shoving the wallet into his hands. "Break the news to his family, if he has one, and make sure I get a chance to search his house."

"Sir, surveillance cameras from the store next door had a clean shot at the entrance to the alley." Yet another officer weighed in, running up to Fields with a scroll in hand. "No one other than our victim entered or exited the alley within the past few days."

"Killer could've scaled the wall." Tristan suggested "I know more than a few people at Beacon who could handle it just fine."

"Killer's skilled enough to scale the wall and avoid the one camera around here but leaves the body?" Fields wondered aloud "Either that's not what happened, or our suspect is an idiot."

"Could be trying to make a statement." Tristan went on

"No notes on the body or anything special about the way he was killed." Fields countered "We got anything from that canvas across the street?"

"Nothing yet sir." The officer shook his head "I'll let you know the second we find anything."

"Good." Fields nodded before turning back to Tristan. "You've got sharp eyes kid, but how do you know so much about normal weapons?"

"My dad's a marksmen instructor, and I'm a sniper myself." Tristan shrugged, kneeling back down next to the body. "That kind of stuff was research for me when I learning to shoot."

Tristan took an opportunity to look over the body again, this time ignoring anything about the damage done to it by the shooter. Information was the key as Nickole would say, so Tristan begrudgingly took her words to heart as he took in every detail about the person lying dead before him. Thirty two but looks middle aged, well dressed with a brown overcoat on top of a business suit…

"You said he lived a few block away from here?" Tristan asked

"Yeah why?"

"He was probably walking to work when he was shot, look at how he's dressed." Tristan said standing up. "Probably carrying a briefcase or some kind of bag with him."

"So where is it?" Fields asked "Forensics didn't find one."

"Exactly, and surveillance hasn't seen anyone else enter the alley." Tristan said moving around "It must still be here somewhere."

"He could've hidden it." Fields nodded as he addressed the officers around them "Alright people start looking for a briefcase or bag of some kind, vic probably had one on him before he died."

The alley was mostly empty, a few piles of wooden boxes sat near the victim, the only real items around were a pair of dumpsters by the back wall of the alley. That was probably the easiest hiding place for anything small Tristan figured, and the first place anyone with a brain would look. Tristan brushed right passed it as he searched, figuring if he was wrong then one of the uniformed officers would find the case in there. Instead Tristan found himself being drawn to the far corner of the alley. His eyes settled on a pair of palettes resting upright against the wall. Feeling something was off, Tristan walked over and moved the palettes aside revealing a small hole in the wall.

"Think I got something over here." Tristan called out as he reached a hand inside the hole and grabbed onto something thin and hard. Sure enough, he pulled a brown briefcase out of the hole.

"Two for two kid. Hmm, locked." Fields noticed as he walked over and took the briefcase. Once again he quickly shoved it into a uniformed officer's hands. "Get that down to the station and find a way to get it open."

"Sir, Detective Emmer just found something canvasing one of the buildings across the street." A voice called from beyond the alley.

"We'll be right there." Fields shouted back "Come on."

Across the street the police had cordoned off a tall building under renovation. Debris covers had been placed on the sidewalk to allow people to walk by without issue, most of the doors in the building were blown out along with some of the windows which were instead covered by green tarp. Tristan and Fields followed the trail of officers until they reached a side room. Inside were a few officers and another detective, this one a woman. Dressed in a light grey suit with short cut brown hair, she seemed to have been waiting for them to arrive.

"Emmer, good to see you." Fields greeted "Where's Durum?"

"Called in sick." She shrugged "Who's this?"

"Intern from Beacon." Fields sighed "And I'm already getting sick of these introductions."

"You and me both." Tristan agreed "What'd you find?"

"Oh nothing major, just this." She said, holding up an evidence bag with a small shell casing in it.

"Call it a hunch, but I'd wager this is from the round that killed our vic." Fields said, taking the bag from Emmer. "Small enough at the very least. Tristan, you said you're a sniper, have a look around see if you can't figure something out."

"You mind if I get in the zone?" Tristan asked, slinging his bag off his shoulder and pulling out Starfall.

"Feel free." Fields nodded as Tristan extended the weapon.

Tristan crouched down and rested the barrel of his rifle on the table in front of him. There was a slight gap in the tarps covering the window that gave enough of a view of the street that Tristan could sight the alley where the body was found along with half the block. But he had barely been looking down the scope for a few seconds when he realized something.

"Either our shooter is one of the luckiest shot's in the world," Tristan began "Or they're insane."

"Got something for me?" Fields asked

"Yeah, that's a busy sidewalk. Not many cars but tons of people." Tristan said as he stood up "With how thin the gap is there's no way to tell if someone is walking into your line of fire."

"Luck might not have anything to do with it." Emmer commented "I drive passed here every morning on my way into work. The debris covers on the side walk, they were just putting them up when I drove by."

"When was this?" Fields asked her

"Seven o'clock? Maybe seven thirty." Emmer figured "Sidewalk was empty though, no one could get around the guys putting the covers up."

"Shooter must've known." Tristan gathered "Figured the first floor would be easier to get in and out of without being seen."

"Great, he's smart." Fields sighed "Why can't the people I'm after ever be idiots?"

"It wouldn't be the major crimes unit if the cases were easy boss." Emmer chuckled

"Yeah yeah." Fields waved her off "Come on, let's head back to the precinct see if they've got that briefcase open yet."

The pair had barely set foot on the floor for the major crimes unit when Captain Thorn walked up to them. Already Tristan could feel this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation.

"Fields, that officer you sent back here with evidence, he never made it." Thorn told them "He was hit by another car halfway from the crime scene. Pair of masked men jumped out, grabbed some stuff from his car and drove off."

"The officer?" Fields asked

"He's still in one piece, got one hell of a concussion though." Thorn told him "I don't know what you're onto, but keep digging. No one messes with our people."

"Don't need to tell me twice sir." Fields nodded as the Captain walked away. "Hell of a first case, huh kid?"

"You can say that again." Tristan sighed

"How much you wanna bet they grabbed that briefcase?" Fields sighed

"More lien than you want to know." Tristan told him "Can't be a coincidence."

"Lesson three." Fields added "There are no coincidences."

A/N

Couple of months with no updates, sorry. Work's been crazy, and most of my writing time has gone to new stories lately. But I feel awful just leaving KNGT sitting like this. I love the story too much to let it die but my schedule is too hectic these days. Bright side, I have a couple of days off in the coming weeks that will give me extra time to write, which I will be dedicating to KNGT to hopefully get a few more chapters written and ready for editing.

Anyway here's 46 to keep you all sated in the meantime, its a bit short and I might have taken a few liberties with certain things. But its going to start Tristan down a path I can't wait to really get moving. He'll never admit it, but he does listen to Nickole, and he'll be using his head a lot more as time goes on and see the benefit of information.

In the meantime; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'll see you "when I see you."


	47. Chapter 47: The Next Generation

It was official, Nickole needed a break. The past week she had been pushing herself harder than ever before to get stronger. It started with her and her father training together, but Nickole had escalated it by sparring with multiple other members of her family. At the same time. She was determined to get better, but she also had to remind herself that real progress took time. It was a marathon not a sprint, she couldn't wear herself out on the first mile.

In fact it was that very analogy that gave Nickole the perfect idea for her break. A simple day of jogging seemed like the perfect way to relax. So after giving herself a day to sleep in Nickole pushed herself out of bed, threw on her running jacket and pants, and took a step outside. The first thing she realized was how much colder it was than she expected. She immediately went back inside and changed into a warmer jacket. Stepping back outside for the second time, she wondered how on Remnant she had missed the snow that must've settled on the ground last night. Paths had already been cleared through what Nickole guessed to be a good three feet of snow, so at the very least she could still run without much of a problem. Still though it came with a startling realization, winter had come to Vale. Already Nickole was starting to miss the bright colors of the tree leaves as they were now covered in snow or just outright gone.

 _Oh get over it._ She chastised herself, quickly putting in a pair of earbuds and setting her scroll to an old workout playlist she used to listen to. Giving herself a quick moment to stretch, Nickole took off running a few seconds later, following the path that had been cleared through the snow. It didn't take long for her to warm up and start really going as she broke out in a much faster jog. For half a second Nickole thought that Kobalt would probably be leaving her in the dust right about now, then she forced that thought out of her head.

 _It's not fair to compare yourself to him_. Auburn's words rung in her mind. He wasn't necessarily wrong, Kobalt was so far ahead of a normal Huntsman in training that he probably could've skipped going to Beacon all together. So instead, Nickole decided to compare herself to the other soon to be second years back at Beacon. Her Tuesday evening sparring sessions with Kobalt had been more challenging than any of the duels she had been in at school, and save for the tournament she had never been beaten in a fight. At least not a fight where she was thinking clearly, the memory of fighting Luna popping back up. Nickole had forgone a lot of her own strategies in that fight solely because she was so pissed off during the match. Luna probably still would've put up one hell of a fight, maybe she still would've beaten Nickole, but she would've put up a fight herself if she had at least cleared her head. She needed to work on that, if she could turn a fight against her father into a win while calm and focused she might be able to take on more people than she thought. Sure her father had been holding back, but he fought harder than she had seen in a long time.

Nickole was so immersed in her own thoughts she barely registered the fact that she was already half way around the compound. Not only that, but she seemed to have company. Following a few yards back was her little brother, and he was keeping pace fairly well. As an idea popped into her head, Nickole pretended not to notice Aurelian and slowly started picking up her pace. Clearly determined to keep up with his big sister, Lian started running faster himself. Knowing her baby brother as well as she did, Nickole had no doubt he was using her as his standard for training. If he was going to do that, Nickole might as well do all she could to help him improve. Before she knew it the two of them had been running for several miles, with Lian very clearly out of breath.

"Having a hard time there little brother?" Nickole asked over her shoulder as she slowed her run to let him catch up.

"How are you not tired?" Lian gasped as they came to a stop and he bent forwards with his hands on his knees.

"Because I've been working on my endurance since I was your age." Nickole smiled as she walked over and forced Lian's hands on top of his head to help his breathing.

"Yeah but how?" Lian breathed, clearly after Nickole's workout routine.

"Well I started with a run until I was about as tired as you are now." Nickole thought back "Only I made sure I was running slower but longer, then I went to the obstacle course."

"And after that?" Lian asked

"Shouldn't you be working with dad on this?" Nickole asked, though in the back of her head she knew the answer Lian would give her.

"Dad stinks at training, all he ever has me do is spar." Lian pouted, confirmed Nickole's thought.

"Yeah that sounds about right, I guess I forgot I went to Auburn for help when I was your age." Nickole sighed "And I think he's busy right about now."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Lian whined

"Huh if only you had another sibling with tons of training experience and other knowledge she could pass on." Nickole said sarcastically, causing her brother to laugh awkwardly in embarrassment. "You ready for more?"

"Yeah I think so." Lian said.

"Okay here's the deal, I'm going to set your pace and then take off at my own." Nickole told him "You're going to keep running at that speed for the next hour, after that we hit the obstacle course."

"Got it." Lian nodded, a new level of determination in his eyes.

"Good." Nickole smiled "Let's go."

Exactly one hour later even Nickole had to stop to catch her breath, Lian had done a miraculous job keeping his pace steady throughout the whole run even after Nickole started running ahead of him. She had just lapped him when her scroll went off, signaling one hour had passed and she slowed to a halt with him.

"Come on," Nickole told him as he gasped for air. "Let's walk it off."

"But…my legs…" Lian wheezed

"Are fine." Nickole insisted "Problem is your lungs, walking slowly won't hurt."

Slowly, slower than Nickole would've liked, the two made their way over to the obstacle course. But once more Nickole had to remind herself not to be too judgmental, this time of her brother and not herself. He was still a kid, and Nickole had often forced herself into harder training than most other members of the family did.

"How often…did you…do that?" Lian gasped as they walked

"Every day until I left for Beacon." Nickole told him "But after about two years I more or less did it to relax not exercise."

"And you went to obstacle course right after?" Lian asked, breathing a bit better now.

"I gave myself ten minutes to catch my breath and get ready." Nickole added, fudging the truth a bit "I'll give you fifteen since it's your first time."

"I'll only need ten." Lian said, a familiar look of determination on his face as he followed his sister.

"Alright if you say so." She smiled "But were starting off simple. The obstacle course isn't as easy as just running."

"That's what Auburn said." Lian huffed. "I'm sure I can handle it just fine."

 _Boy are you in for a surprise._ Nickole thought. _The tier one course knocked me on my ass on my first run._

"Well on the bright side they cleared the snow off the course." Nickole shrugged walking up the stairs to the starting platform "Let's see…the tier one course has stepping stones, a low wall, balancing bridge, and a few…other things."

"Like what?" Lian asked

"You'll find out." Nickole smirked, walking over to the side so she could watch.

After a minute of catching his breath, Lian sprinted forward onto the course. He cleared the steeping stones as easily as Nickole figured he would and was already pulling himself up over the wall. He crested over the wall quickly, but the second he landed on the other side he hit the pressure plate in the floor. Instantly the pillars that were held over the balancing bridge were let loose and swung down randomly over the bridge. Nickole caught the sight of Lian's jaw dropping slightly before he shook himself out of shock and charged forward. He made it passed the first pillar at the very least, but he hesitated just long enough afterwards to be knocked off by the second one. He went flying off the bridge and landed in the snow with a resounding thud.

Nickole waited a second for her brother to get back up, confident he'd be climbing up for a second attempt as soon as he could. But what little movement she saw was slow and pained, making Nickole worry. When she saw the smallest bit of red in the snow she ran down to him, cursing her father at first and then herself for not checking. The **first** thing her father was supposed to so when Aurelian passed the final trial was to help him unlock his Aura. That was weeks ago, and yet her brother either hadn't unlocked it or couldn't keep it engaged. Nickole reached her brother in an instant, pulling him up to a sitting position as she checked his wound. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw he only had a broken nose from the pillar, the snow had cushioned his fall and it hadn't been the far to begin with.

"Ow…" Lian groaned as Nickole wiped some of the blood off his face to get a better look. It was pretty bad by Nickole's standards, but any break on her baby brother would've been bad in her eyes.

"Alright you're done for the day." She said, lifting her brother up in her arms and carrying him on her back to the house. Ash would be able to take care of this easily, but Nickole's mind was already moving on to other things.

"Dad didn't teach you about Aura did he?" Nickole asked as she kicked the door open.

"No." Lian simply told her

"Okay, well after we get you to Ash I'm going to need to kick his ass again." Nickole fumed. "And after that **I'm** taking over your training, and were starting with Aura."

"You had one job!" Citrine Gareth yelled at her husband, at least as furious as Nickole was. Probably more. "Keep our son safe during training! Everything else was supposed to be secondary to that!"

"I didn't think he would go train with Nickole." Faron argued

"That's your excuse for not teaching him about Aura?" Nickole asked "You're pinning this on me?"

"No of course not—" he began

"Then what in the hell is your excuse?" Citrine yelled again, nearly slipping into a physically violent state as she grabbed her husband's collar. Faron's response was barely a mumble, causing both Nickole and her mother to get that much angrier.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Nickole asked, a vein popping in her head as her father failed to give them a coherent answer.

"You're going to have to speak up, _dear_." Citrine warned, letting go of his collar.

"I didn't think he was ready." Faron admitted, no longer shrinking away from the two women.

"He's more determined to learn than anyone I've ever met." Nickole said "Trust me, he's ready."

"That's not what I meant." Faron sighed "I taught you how to use your Aura the day after you passed the trial. And you grew up so fast it scared me. You never let yourself act like a child should."

"You're supposed to teach him about Aura so he doesn't get hurt, not so he can grow up." Citrine rolled her eyes "Remember Auburn, you think he grew up much after he learned how to use his Aura?"

"That answer's a 'no' by the way." Nickole added "And for the record, Aurelian isn't like me. He enjoys this way more than I ever did."

"Yes he's much more like his father in that regard." A new voice rang out from the doorway. Nickole felt her parent's head turn with hers to see an older man that she would've had to be blind not to recognize. Between the dark grey hair and weathered face covered in scars, there wasn't a single Gareth who wouldn't recognize the man walking into the room, leaning heavily on his cane.

"Father?" Faron asked, his eyes going wide as he looked towards the doorway. "Sorry sir, if I knew you were coming I'd have cleaned the—"

"Dear you truly do worry too much." Citrine chuckled as she walked passed her husband and embraced her father in law. "Good to see Roderick, I feel like it's been weeks since we've talked."

"Likely because it has, I've been stuck managing missions ever since this _Black Knight_ group has shown up." He said giving Nickole a knowing smile. "I can barely get free of the captains long enough to sleep these days."

"Always something huh grandpa?" Nickole chuckled nervously, half expecting to get a lecture about being careful or something. To this day she couldn't quite understand her father's fear of her grandfather. Sure he was supposedly one of the more…violent fighters in his younger days, but that kind of thing happens when you live through the Great War as a child. And as long as Nickole, and apparently Auburn, had known him the man was nothing short of the most caring man she had ever met.

"Indeed there is, take young Aurelian for example." Roderick agreed, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "The third child of my oldest son, and the one whose potential is being squandered the most."

"Oh goodie were back on this." Citrine nearly giggled, and Nickole suppressed one herself as she saw her father squirm.

"Nickole is right, the boy is fundamentally different from her." Roderick went on "She and Auburn are more like their mother. But Aurelian is truly his father's son."

"Which is why I'm taking over his training while I'm home." Nickole jumped in, turning back to her dad. "You're the best warrior the Gareth's have trained since grandpa, if Lian's even a little like you I'm not letting that go to waste."

"Full marks as always Nickole." Her grandfather smiled "Well, nearly. You're off in one regard; **you** are the best warrior we've ever trained."

"See even grandpa agrees with—" Nickole began, her mouth moving out of sync from her mind "Wait what?"

"You heard me correctly." Roderick laughed, clutching his cane and sides for support.

"But Auburn and dad are much stronger than I am." Nickole insisted

"As they are now, but when their training with us finished they were far different then they became." He continued "Your father trained in Atlas and your brother at Beacon, and then they gained all the experience that comes with a Huntsman's license. We did not train them to reach their current strength."

"He's right Nickole," Faron spoke up "you've been taking on our seasoned lieutenants for practice the past week."

"They don't have the same training as me." she argued

"No but they have years of combat experience, enough to go toe to toe with most of the students in the academies." Roderick added "Which is why I have every ounce of confidence in your ability to train Aurelian better than your father."

"That's not hard." Nickole scoffed, already making her way out the door in the direction of the infirmary,

"What can I say?" Faron shrugged "I'm no teacher."

"No, no you are not." The rest of them said in unison.

"Feeling better?" Nickole asked Aurelian as Ash moved out of the way. His nose was bandaged, and the bleeding had long since stopped, but it still looked pretty painful.

"Yeah, I think I'm ready for another round." He nodded to Nickole's amusement.

"Yeah maybe you are." Nickole shrugged "But first we need to take care of something."

Nickole crossed the distance between them and gently placed a hand on her brother's shoulder.

"Close your eyes." She instructed, doing the same herself. Her mind went blank, pushing all thoughts out until all she could sense was the steady breeze of her own soul. And the cage of another.

 _Life is a sacred thing, and we art those sworn to defend it. You heed the call of justice, and have agreed to follow its path. For you are Gareth. Let the winds of your soul be unleashed, may you follow wherever they take you._

And for the shortest moment Nickole's senses felt like they were being assaulted by the most torrential current imaginable. A stream of air so quick and powerful she felt as though it might slice her in two. And then it was gone, as quick as it came.

Opening her eyes, Nickole smiled as she saw the telltale glow of an Aura encapsulate her brother. Unlike her own golden glow, or Auburn's dim red, Aurelian was surrounded in brilliant silver light.

"What, what is this?" he asked, hopping off the bed and looking at his own body in confusion. "It isn't…"

"Aura?" Nickole suggested "Come on little brother, we have work to do."

A/N

Yay more Gareth's!

I'm going to be honest, I love Nickole's family. Probably more than I should, but they're just so much fun to write for. And with the current arc being everyone's break from school and the main plot I have a good excuse to throw them in more often.

Not much else to say, work's still got me busy as all hell. Plus I've started up my summer classes, which I'm actually looking forward to. Weird huh?

In the meantime; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like it. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'l see you next time!


	48. Chapter 48: Knight on Wheels

"Mr. Bearington!" Hazel cried out in glee as Kobalt pulled the stuffed bear from his pack. The young girl quickly ran up and snatched the toy from his hands before he could say a word.

"I never thought I'd see him again." She went on, tightly cradling the bear in her arms before running up to Kobalt and wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug. "Thank you."

"You're more than welcome." Kobalt smiled, reaching down to pat her on the head. But his smiled wavered as he looked up to the apprehensive look he was getting from the young girl's mother. A strange mixture of fear, mistrust, and gratitude.

"I'm sorry to cut things short, but I need to talk with your parents." Kobalt said simply and Hazel let go of him. "There are a couple of things I think your mother wants to ask me, and a few I need to ask her."

Hazel said nothing, instead simply nodding and happily running off through one of the doorways. Kobalt pretended not to see it remain open a crack as the young girl closed it.

…

"Where did you get that?" Apricot Nut asked after a moment of silence. Kobalt could tell she was more than warry of him, understandable given how he just showed up with something the family no doubt thought was lost forever, even if it was just a stuffed toy.

"Halcyon." Kobalt answered simply, flexing his shoulder as he thought back to the mission he underwent there years ago. Even without a major injury, just thinking back was enough for Kobalt to feel the strain the mission had put on his body.

"Are you after my daughter as well?" she asked "Did you follow my family all the way from there?"

"Your daughter? No I'm not after her, though now I'm curious as to who is." Kobalt stated plainly.

"Your family is full of warriors." Apricot sighed, motioning for Kobalt to sit at a nearby table with her. "Something like that tends to dissuade kidnappers looking for ransom money."

Kobalt nodded as he took a seat across from her, feeling a touch uncomfortable in such a small chair with his armor on. Apricot still had a cautious look about her, but she seemed less worried than a few moments ago.

"So if you're not after my daughter, what are you here for?" she asked him

"Halcyon," Kobalt answered again "I need to know what happened there. And I know you were there when it fell."

"Why?"

"Because if I'm right about what happened there, then my job just got a lot harder." Kobalt admitted, controlling Grimm wasn't something he was aware the Chairman could do. Yet Sable had been insistent that the security footage he recovered showed Dusk and the Grimm getting along.

"I'm going to need more than that." Apricot said crossing her arms.

"I don't suppose the term classified information is going to get me out of this." Kobalt sighed "I was there a few years after the colony fell, to recover the security logs from the police headquarters."

"If that's the case than Atlas knows what happened there, every second of it." Apricot added

"Only the people I worked for back then weren't Atlas." Kobalt informed her "And I'm pretty sure they were using me to cover up their tracks. I need to find out just how deep things go before I head after them."

"Have you ever heard the saying 'leave the past behind'?" Apricot muttered

"I already tried that, didn't really pan out." Kobalt shrugged

"Well you are Sterling's grandson, and you saved Hazel, so I suppose I do owe you—" She began

"You don't owe me anything. You may not know me very well but I don't care for things like debts." He cut her off "So you can drop the Atlas persona you've had since I walked in. I'm not here to call in a debt, I'm here as a friend asking for help."

"Hah, you really are your mother's son." Apricot laughed "You sound just like her. What do you need to know?"

"When did the attack begin, how long did it take to fall, what was the giant Grimm that I saw there?" Kobalt listed off the big facts he needed to piece things together.

"Late in the evening, the air kind of grew heavy as the sun started setting. I don't know how to explain it, but it was practically suffocating." She told him "From what I heard the soldiers guarding the gate instantly started preparing for some kind of attack, and they weren't fast enough."

"How bad?"

"We could hear them pounding at the gate from our home in the center of the colony. It didn't take long for the evacuation order to go out, Wal and I dropped everything, I grabbed Hazel and we ran." Apri continued "We didn't get far before the Grimm started gaining on us, if it wasn't for all the soldiers there we never would've made it. But I could feel them behind us, **all** of them."

"You saw the big one?" Kobalt asked

"No I didn't dare turn around once I started running." she shook her head "I could feel them though, I could tell they wanted to rip us all to pieces."

"Damn, I was hoping you got a good look at the big one." Kobalt sighed "If I'm heading back there it's sure to show up again. I didn't stay long enough to see it my second time through."

"I'm sorry, that's really all I know. I can't help much more than that."

"I can." A small voice squeaked out in the distance. Kobalt shook his head as a thin smile creeped onto his face. He had hoped that at the mention of Halcyon she would stop eavesdropping.

"Hazel! Have you been listening this whole time?" Apricot shouted "What have I told you about—"

"I can help him, I saw the big snake." Hazel interrupted "I was looking over your shoulder the whole time."

Apricot's eyes widened at the realization of just what her daughter must have seen, and for a moment Kobalt felt a degree of pity for having to see such things at a young age. But he also had a feeling that Hazel was tougher than she looked, and leaned forward in his seat.

"What do you mean you can help?" he asked, not only glad to be able to get more information, but also curious as to just how much Hazel remembered.

She didn't say anything but walked over to another table and grabbed a notebook of some kind. From the scraps of paper and colored pencils littering the table Kobalt could venture a guess as to what she was going to do.

Sure enough after flipping to a blank page in her sketch book, Hazel's hand became a blur of motion, tracing lines so quickly and precisely that it clearly left Apricot's head spinning. Even Kobalt was having difficulty keeping up. When her hand finally left the paper, Kobalt felt like he was staring at a ghost. Hazel quickly tore the paper from her sketchbook and handed it to him, likely not missing the shocked look on his face.

Drawn near perfectly on the paper was the very Grimm Kobalt had encountered, though his memories were a bit hazy he recognized the beast instantly. To a degree he nearly felt like he was back in Halcyon running from the giant snake. Kobalt knew within an instant of looking at the drawing that the monster had been drawn perfectly to scale, as the buildings around it seemed dwarfed by its size. Its mouth was opened wide as it sprayed a jet of liquid, acid most likely, at a nearby building and its fangs bared for anyone who dared look to see.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kobalt knew that where he saw an enemy Hazel saw a terrifying monster, and it brought his attention back to her. What he saw in her eyes utterly shocked him, rather than fear or anguish he saw a mirrored look of determination.

"That monster destroyed my home," Hazel explained, likely picking up on Kobalt's silence "It ruined more lives than I can count, don't let it ruin anymore."

"I won't." Kobalt promised.

"Hazel as much as I'm sure Mr. Kobalt appreciates your help I think you're going to be late for your lessons." Apricot coughed "Go find your father, you know you'll be in for an earful if you miss another one."

The look that crossed Hazel's face was one of absolute horror. It was actually kind of funny seeing her reaction to that, but she merely nodded before running back through the door she had hidden behind earlier, this time making sure it closed fully. Kobalt sat there for a moment astonished before turning back to Apricot.

"If she ever decides not to become a doctor like the rest of her family, or an artist." Kobalt began "Send her to me, there's only one other job she could possibly choose."

 ** _So now we're sentencing a child to the same fate we had are we?_** A familiar voice echoed in the back of Kobalt's mind as he reached his bike.

 _'Oh you're talking to me while I'm awake now are you?'_ Kobalt thought as he slipped on his helmet. He'd been in Atlas for a few short days now, and had taken his time adjusting to his surroundings before choosing to try and contact his other half. Now it seemed his other half was contacting him instead.

 ** _You were taking too long to get things moving_** _._ It spoke in answer. **_You still haven't answered my question._**

 _'I'm not sentencing her to anything, like I told her mother it's her choice.'_ Kobalt went on

 ** _It was ours too remember?_**

 _'Mine,_ _ **you**_ _didn't exist at the time.'_ Kobalt warned, gunning the engine as he made his way back to his grandfather's home. _'And_ _ **I**_ _was lied to about Black Knight.'_

 ** _Are telling me that, or yourself?_** The voice mocked.

 _'You know, if I die in a motorcycle accident because I'm distracted, don't you die as well?'_ Kobalt asked, the silence that followed was all the answer he needed. Right now dealing with the dark half of his soul was not something he wanted to do, that could wait until he got back. Frankly he was looking forward to a relaxing ride home.

And at first he thought he just might get it, but that was when he noticed something odd. He was on one of the many highways in Atlas, but he couldn't remember the last time he saw another vehicle. That on its own would strange enough, but then Kobalt noticed the line of dark colored vans pulling onto the high from the nearest on ramp. The proximity of the vehicles to one another alone set off alarm bells in Kobalt's mind, and the way the pulled up behind him (while he was in the central lane no less) only added to his suspicion.

 _This is reckless, even for Black Knight._ Kobalt thought as his left hand reached back to his pistol. He quickly clicked the safety off as two of the vans pulled up on his sides. To be honest he didn't expect them to try something like this so soon, Black Knight was smart, they had to know Atlas would be able to react in time to stop them. Especially given what Kobalt could do to them in the meantime. So his mind was left reeling as he tried to understand the situation he found himself in. Until the side door on the first van slid open.

He had expected a couple basic soldiers, maybe even a few Knight Class officers. He expected at least one specialist and was prepared for the slim chance they sent a Director.

He was completely caught off guard by the three men in suits holding assault rifles. He was so confused that he barely had time to throw a shield up around his bike when they opened fire. Most of the rounds bounced off the slight angles he put into the shield, but a few slammed home and Kobalt could feel their impact. Between the staggering weight behind the rounds and a sound reminiscent of a jackhammer when they fired, Kobalt had no doubt they were carrying Black Knight weapons. **Old** Black Knight weapons.

"Alright gentlemen, you've got my attention!" Kobalt called out over the sound of wind rushing past his helmet. He drew his pistol and raised it towards the men who had just opened fire on him. Lucida barked as he squeezed the trigger, the oversized handgun sounding more akin to the new Black Knight rifles despite its age. He was rewarded with a trio of satisfying thuds as the round hit his targets square in the chest.

But the men he'd shot merely stumbled as thought they'd been punched, despite their clear lack of Aura. Lucida had enough firepower to obliterate Grimm and rip a person to shreds with enough shots. And it had ripped them to shreds, or at least their clothes. The front of each man's suit looked like a tornado had touched down on it, but underneath Kobalt could just make out the hard steel of Black Knight body armor. Like the guns the armor was clearly outdated, from a time when Kobalt was still new to the organization. It had been phased out almost five years ago, and was now staring him in the face like an old wound.

Kobalt gunned the engine as he heard the second van's door slide open and gunfire filled the air again. He bolted ahead to the side of the van on his right and holstered Lucida. With his left hand back on the handlebars he raised his right and slammed it into the van, denting the front of the vehicle next to the engine block and causing the driver to swerve wildly. He lost control within seconds and the van flipped over on its side, tumbling end over end as the men inside were knocked around or fell out entirely.

The rear van pulled into its place and bullets streaked over Kobalt's head as he took off in front of them. As he sped away, Kobalt caught the sight of another trio of dark vans pulling onto the highway further ahead of him. They meant to box him in then, to keep his motorcycle's maneuverability from being available.

"I think I officially hate traffic." He complained aloud as his right hand reached over his left shoulder, adjusting his scabbard and getting a grip on his sword. He started channeling his Aura into the blade, and after a moment he squeezed the breaks and turned. His bike spun around as he drew Arondight, slashing with it and sending a wave of energy cascading towards the front of both vans behind him. The wave sliced through their tires, causing both drivers to lose control and crash into the guardrails. His bike spun back around, completing the circle as he sheathed his blade and popped the bike up briefly as gunned the engine again. The sound of the motor revving so loud issued his challenge as he raced off towards the new set of vans.

Lucida flashed to life as the rear doors on the vans opened up, taking first shot as the men in the back raised their rifles. Kobalt swerved, avoiding most of their rounds and letting his Aura deflect the few he couldn't. A surge of adrenaline shot through him as he rode wildly, along with a surprising rush of excitement. It was a strangely familiar feeling, and he could almost feel Sable shaking her head and sighing as the grin grew across his face. _Just like old times,_ he thought. Despite the danger, despite the implications of what was happening, Kobalt was having fun.

At least one of his rounds seemed to make a dent in his opposition, though not on purpose. The bullet whizzed past the men in the back and tore through the van, piercing the engine in the process. The van lurched and started grinding to a halt, but not before Kobalt drove up next to it and slammed his foot into the front end. The van spun like a top, eventually coming to a stop far behind him. Kobalt took a quick look in his mirror to see the only conscious man from it fall out and vomit on the pavement.

Kobalt raised Lucida again, intending on doing the same for the next van. Only for the gun to click empty. He rolled his eyes and settled it back on his hip, revving the engine as he pulled up next to the van. Almost predictably, rather than try and run him off the road the side door opened as he neared and a set of rifles poked out. It was all Kobalt could do not to laugh as he reached out, grabbed one of the barrels and threw his bike into the next gear. Not only did he tear the rifle from the man's hand but Kobalt sent him tumbling into his friends as he drove ahead. A quick flip of the gun later and tapped the breaks, lining the back of the van up in his sights as he squeezed the trigger.

The rounds streaked through the van, sparking as they struck metal. Most of them failed to do any real damage to the people inside, but they did plenty to the windshield. By the time Kobalt had dropped the empty rifle the windshield was cracked in thousands of places, making it impossible for the driver to see. Just in time for the lanes on the highway to narrow down. The van slammed into the guardrail with enough speed to send the men in the back flying forward. The airbags may have deployed, but they weren't enough for all four people inside.

 _Five down, only one left._ Kobalt mused as he reached up for his sword. Arondight was the only weapon he had left, well the only physical one. He still had his semblance, but were was the fun in that? He raced forward, closing the distance with the last van as quickly as he could. But the driver of that van was clearly terrified of him by this point, instead of keeping his speed the same it had been so far, he gunned the engine himself trying to increase the distance. The men in the back looked just as scared, one of the firing his rifle wildly. It only came to a stop when his friend grabbed his shoulder and pointed off to the side of the road. Kobalt followed the finger only to look out and see nothing, just the supports of the bridge running almost parallel above them. Only a few small Atlas gunships would be able to fly through those, and they weren't even there.

But when Kobalt looked back he saw something a bit more worrisome than an Atlas ship. One of the men in the van had some kind of launcher resting on his shoulder, and he wasn't aiming at Kobalt.

His eyes widened as the launcher fired, its rocket blazing forward and slamming into a support pillar. Kobalt could feel the bridge above him rumble from the blast, and with a loud groan it began to shake and fall apart. Bits of asphalt and steel started falling in front of him before it really gave, sending entire chunks of road hurtling down towards him. Something clicked in Kobalt's mind and his eyes narrow with laser focus. If before he had been driving wildly, now he was driving like an absolute maniac. For all he could see the very world was falling apart in front of him and he swerved in and out of the debris, accelerating the whole way through. Arondight lashed out, slicing apart a piece of rubble he wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time. Time slowed as even more adrenaline flooded his system and his mind focused on the path out. One last piece of debris fell in his path, and Kobalt leaned the bike nearly on its side as he sped out underneath it and back onto clear road.

His mind shifted back to normal just in time to see the rocket that was now streaking towards him. His instincts took over as he leapt from his bike and rolled in the air, landing on the ground on his back and driving his sword into the ground to stop his slide. He pushed himself to his feet as the flaming wreckage of his bike tumbled passed him.

 _After all that?_ Kobalt whined. _Dust dammit I don't think insurance would cover that even if I had it._

Kobalt turned his attention back to the van the rocket had come from. Now that he lacked his bike the drive seemed to have developed a new found sense of confidence. He had turned around and was now speeding off directly towards Kobalt, probably thinking to run him over.

"You really don't want to do that." Kobalt shook his head as he settled low to the ground, raising Arondight behind him in his right hand as his left reached out to balance himself. As the van drew neared Kobalt poured a large amount of his Aura into the blade. Dark blue flames erupted from the hilt and formed along the edges of the blade like a blow torch. The van was hardly more than twenty feet from him when Kobalt snapped from his stance. Taking a step forward he slashed his blade down, releasing all the energy he built up in it in a heavy wave that sliced the van in two, both halves crashing on either side of him.

He sheathed his blade and walked through the wreckage, looking for someone conscious. Shockingly he found the driver, shaking like a leaf as he gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles. Kobalt grabbed the man by his collar and yanked him from the half of the van he was still sitting in.

"It wasn't bad enough you guys had to go and destroy part of the highway, but you just wrecked my bike." Kobalt growled as he shoved the man into the rubble of the freeway they had collapsed. "So we're going to skip the formalities and jump straight to the part where you tell me what that was all about."

"Oh god." The man whimpered as Kobalt took a step towards him

"That's not who you're dealing with." Kobalt shook his head "But I can be nice too, so I'll give you one more chance to tell me what—"

"Um sir?" a new voice cut him off, this one behind him and sounding more than a little unsure about themselves.

"Of for Dust's sake now what?" Kobalt asked as he turned to find himself face to face with an Atlas soldier. Correction, Atlas **officer** based off the badge on his shoulder. Kobalt's eyes shifted a moment later, catching the sight of the battalion behind him as well.

"Oh right, you guys." Kobalt sighed "I suppose you'll want me to explain this to your superior officer?"

"Y-yes sir." The man stuttered "The General has been informed of this incident and has asked you to come with us for the time being."

"And if I say no?" Kobalt smirked, slipping his helmet off his head.

"Then he told us to emphasize the politeness of the request." The officer added, looking briefly at the wall of rubble behind Kobalt.

"Did he really?" Kobalt laughed

"No." the officer shook his head "But frankly, I think diplomacy is my only option here."

"Well since you asked nicely." Kobalt chuckled as he followed the man ahead.

 _General Ironwood himself huh?_ He mused. _Well that's interesting._

A/N

I'm back! And with one hell of a new chapter to boot!

Boy this one took me a while to finish up, between where it started and life getting in the way it took me ages to get it to a point where I wanted the fight scene at the end, that changed more than a few times. But I'll keep myself from ranting about it for now since I could go on and on.

Suffice to say it felt good to work on this and even better to upload.

In the meantime; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like it. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'l see you next time!


	49. Chapter 49: A Budding Detective

"Any security cameras on the street our guy got hit?" Fields asked, pacing back in forth in front of his desk while a few other detectives shuffled through reports on theirs.

"Plenty, caught the whole thing." one said "Three men jumped out of a white SUV grabbed half the evidence in the cruiser and drove off. All of them were wearing black masks."

"Naturally." Fields sighed "Could you trace the car?"

"Already did, some officers found it in a parking garage. Whole thing was scrubbed top to bottom." Emmer said as she walked in, a series of photographs in her hand. Each one a different shot of the SUV.

"Anything on Wilks's next of kin?" Fields groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Only child, both parents dead, he never married." Some random officer answered

"What about his work?" Tristan asked, finally speaking up now that Fields was clearly at his wits end. "Guy like this, no family, lived alone, probably a workaholic."

"We're still trying to get in contact with his employer." The same officer spoke up.

"Well we need to try harder." Tristan insisted "Were not going to get anywhere with these masked men. They've already given us the slip."

"Kid's right." Fields added "Come on grab your jacket, we're heading to his office. Uni's locked down his place yet?"

"Yeah forensics is on their way over too." Emmer added

"Good, finish up on whatever leads we have for the masked men then meet us there." Fields told her as he reached for his own coat. "I want to know our vic inside and out."

"I hate cases like this." Fields muttered as he and Tristan reached the elevator to the garage.

"Like what?" Tristan raised an eyebrow.

"No family." Fields sighed "Makes building a profile damn near impossible. Friends can be fooled or not told the whole story. Family can see right through a person."

"Some friends are like family too." Tristan weighed in, partially speaking from experience. KNGT was kind of like a family, dysfunctional at times, but he could tell when something was up with his friends.

"Then let's hope he lived and breathed for his coworkers." Fields nodded as he slipped into his car. Tristan had barely slid into his seat when Fields gunned the engine, shooting out of the precinct's garage.

Tristan wasn't sure how long of a ride he was in for, so the minute they left the garage he started zoning out. His mind was slowly trying to piece things together from what he already knew, trying to find out the who and why of everything as he had little else to do. Ballistics confirmed it was a rifle that had fired the kill shot, though Tristan already knew that. That little but meant it was definitely someone with marksman training, but also knowledgeable enough to procure a low caliber rifle. They had the foresight to strike from a building where it would be hard to see them, but easy to get in. And they had waited until they confirmed the victim was hiding his briefcase. All of it seemed fairly professional, except for one thing. The shooter had left his bullet casing in the room he fired from.

Aside from being proof of his location, it made it easier to narrow down the type of gun. Any professional worth their salt wouldn't have left the room with any evidence, or at least any they could clean up. Trace powder from the shot and other invisible variables would've made it possible to find his firing location eventually, but it would've been much harder if they hadn't found the casing. It didn't add up, especially with how professional the attack on the police cruiser had been. Masked men jumping out of an unmarked van and driving off, only for the van to be found wiped down and scrubbed of evidence afterwards. As far as an anonymous attack on the police could be, that was by the book from what Tristan could tell. Perfectly executed and leaving no real evidence for them to follow. So why was the shooter different?

"I know that look kid." Fields spoke up "Whatever you're thinking, drop it."

"Huh?" Tristan turned to face the detective as he drove.

"You've got the look of someone trying to find the answer to a problem without all the information." Fields chuckled "You try something like that you're gonna twist the facts so they fit into whatever explanation you come up with rather than the other way round."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Tristan noted

"There isn't a single detective who didn't do that exact thing on their first case." Fields nodded "That's why we have partners when we start, to keep us from going off the rails."

"Fair enough, so what's the plan?" Tristan asked "Talk to the guy's employer or snoop around his office?"

"Probably a bit of both." Fields shrugged "Depends on how much access we can get out of his boss."

"What exactly did our vic do again?" Tristan checked

"Analyst of some kind." Fields told him as he pulled into a parking lot. "For a medical company."

Stepping out of the car Tristan realized he hadn't been paying any attention to where they were going, normally he'd have realized when he was in downtown Vale.

"You mean THE medical company?" Tristan asked, staring up at the front of the MediVale Research headquarters. Tristan didn't know much about medical technology, but even he knew about this place. The forefront of their field, MediVale had been churning out new medical procedures and equipment every few months. Rumor was they even rivaled some of the companies in Atlas, which was no small feat. Fields simply shrugged at the notion and walked in, leaving Tristan to catch up.

"Detectives Fields and Glaucous, VPD." the older man introduced, flipping his badge to the receptionist as he entered. "We need to speak to Cedar Wilks's boss."

"He's currently in a meeting. May I ask what this is about?" The receptionist wondered, hands already moving to call the employer in question.

"Mr. Wilks was found dead this morning." Tristan told her after sharing a look with Fields.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Detectives, thank you for waiting I came as soon as I heard." A tall, light skinned man exclaimed as he entered the office Tristan and Fields had been sitting in for all of three minutes. The man, a Mr. Antonio Magneti, was Wilks's direct supervisor. According to the receptionist he was the manager of a number of research projects in the company.

"Mr. Magneti, I'm Detective Fields this is Detective Glaucous." Fields introduced once again "We're presiding over the Wilks case."

"I'm honestly surprised someone would want to kill him." Magneti shook his head. "What do you need? I tell you whatever I can."

"How well did you know Mr. Wilks?" Tristan asked first, earning an appraising look from Fields.

"Probably better than some of his other coworkers." Magneti told him "He reported directly to me on an almost daily basis."

"What exactly was his job?" Fields asked next, pulling a notepad out of his suit pocket.

"Research analyst, he determined the efficacy of our various research projects." Magneti went on "He determined if something was worthy pursuing or if it was a waste of time and reported as such to me."

"Did he have any enemies that you know of?" Fields continued "Problems with coworkers, maybe people who came here looking for him?"

"I'm not really sure about the latter." Magneti hummed as he thought "And as far as coworkers go, well his reports often decided whether or not a project got funded. But even still I can't see someone here killing him over that. Most of our people are fairly professional."

"Most?" Tristan noted

"Well a few of our researchers are very passionate about their craft." Magneti smiled "But they're also our best members and come up with our best products."

"I'd like a list of the leads of whatever projects he looked into recently anyway." Fields added "It would help us build a profile for Mr. Wilks."

"I'm not sure if I can permit that detective." Magneti sighed "Those projects are extremely valuable to MediVale, unless you can get me a warrant I can't hand over something like that."

"I'm not asking for the information on the projects themselves." Fields corrected "Just the names the researchers, or any other coworkers that he interacted with."

"That might be more possible." Magneti nodded "Let me see what I can do. Is there anything else you need?"

"Yeah actually," Tristan spoke up "You said you knew him well, what kind of person was he?"

"Dedicated to say the least, almost obsessive at times." Magneti began "He was very thorough in his investigations, he didn't like the idea of something being pushed out unless it truly helped patients."

"It sounds like he had a personal investment." Tristan commented, pausing for a moment as he realized he grabbed Field's notepad about halfway through.

"On that I can't say." Magneti shrugged "While I might have known him well, he rarely spoke of his personal life."

"Can you tell me anything else about how he handled work perhaps?" Tristan asked next "Procedures, habits, anything like that."

"Well like I said he was thorough, his reports were extremely detailed. He even devised a ranking system unlike our other analysts. But he never once spoke with another analyst about his findings." Magneti added "And he was punctual, down to the minute. He'd show up at the same time every day, eat lunch, submit reports, and head home like clockwork. Was there anything else?"

"I think that's it." Tristan shrugged. "Fields?"

"I'm good." The detective nodded as he stood up, grabbing the notepad as he did. "Thank you for your time Mr. Magneti."

"Of course, if there's anything more I can do to help please contact me directly." Magneti added, extending a different business card than the one sitting on his desk. With a quick look, Tristan noticed it had a different style as well.

Fields bid the businessman farewell before speeding out of the office, Tristan almost had to run to keep up with the seasoned detective. Neither of them said a word until they climbed into Fields's car.

"You're learning quick kid I'll give you that." Fields spoke up as he gunned the engine, speeding down the street faster than he should have. Keeping one hand on the wheel, the man reached down into the center console of the car and started rummaging around.

"But if you're gonna take notes," he added, pulling out a notepad much like his own and tossing it to Tristan. "Then you keep them out of my notes."

"Sorry." Tristan wilted slightly as he scrambled to re-write what he had earlier.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not pissed. It was smart." Fields offered, still not slowing down. In fact he was speeding up. "You're asking the right questions, before I even could. But we need to keep things organized."

"Fair point." Tristan nodded, his hand moving from the notepad to the safety handle above the door. "So what's with the driving?"

"That interview took longer than I thought." Fields told him "I wanted to be at our vic's house ten minutes ago."

"Okay, then why not use the siren?" Tristan suggested

"Good idea, I like the way you think." Fields chuckled as he flipped a switch on the dashboard.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 _Bad idea_ , Tristan thought as he collapsed on the ground the moment he opened the car door.

"You alright there Tristan?" Fields asked as he walked around the car.

"You know," he began, fighting the urge not to vomit "When I recommended the siren, I thought it would mean you'd drive safer. Not faster."

"There were less cars in our way." The detective shrugged

"Never again." Tristan groaned as he pushed himself up. He quickly found himself looking at a small house out in the suburbs, a dark brown single story home a short distance from its neighbors. It matched the feeling he got about Wilks from what Magneti had said; professional. But one other thing stuck out to Tristan, there were already a small handful of police cars parked nearby. And crime scene tape across the front door.

"Fields, what took you so long?" Emmer quipped sarcastically as she walked over to them.

"Our conversation with the vic's boss went on for a while." Fields told her "What's going on here?"

"You're not going to like it." She sighed, leading the pair inside. "The place has been tossed."

"That's putting it mildly." Tristan shook his head as he peered inside.

By comparison to what he saw, tossed would've implied someone merely rummaged through the house and didn't bother putting anything back in place. No, in this case the entire house looked like someone had unleashed a tornado and searched through the wreckage. Draws were pulled free of their cabinets and emptied on the ground, shelves had been all but torn out of their housing, and the floor was littered in everything from silverware to clothes.

"I think it's safe to say they were looking for something." Fields sighed "Question is, what?"

"I'll do you one better." Tristan added as he took a few hesitant steps in "Did they find whatever it was?"

"We can't know that without knowing what they were after." Emmer weighed in

"Can't we?" Tristan smirked, an idea coming to mind. "I'm going on a hunch and saying most of the neighbors are out at work?"

"Yeah, we were trying to see if anyone saw anything but no one's home." Emmer nodded

"The men who stole the briefcase did so early in the morning, just as people were heading out to work." Tristan added on "We had barely gotten to the crime scene before rush hour."

"And your point kid?" Emmer rolled her eyes

"If the place had been sacked this badly, the people doing it would've made a ton of noise." Tristan finished "Anyone could've heard them and would've called the police."

"Which means it was after all the neighbors were gone. So they were looking for something besides the case." Fields nodded "Any parts of the house left untouched?"

"No, whole place has been turned upside down." Emmer shook her head before shooting Tristan an appraised looked.

"So they were looking for something other than the briefcase, and the checked the whole house." Fields stroked his chin "They wouldn't have done that if they found what they were looking for right away."

"Which means there's a chance whatever it is, is still here." Tristan nodded

"Al right, I want forensics searching this place top to bottom." Fields ordered "Fingerprints, DNA, everything, I want to know it all and where it was found. Our vic's included. Maybe we can find whatever he was hiding. And I want to see his office."

"That's the other thing I wanted to mention." Emmer perked up, a small smile on her lips.

"They search it too?" Tristan asked

"Not only that, they turned the computer on." Emmer nodded showing them the way into the small office where sure enough the blue light of the computer monitor greeted them. "But it's password protected."

"Think they were looking for his password?" Tristan asked

"Doubtful, no one keeps physical copies of passwords anymore." Fields shrugged

"I can tell you something they did do." Emmer spoke up, "Take a look at the bottom right corner of the screen."

Tristan leaned in close to the monitor, while most of it was a plain blue waiting for the password to be input, there was a bit of dark text at the bottom.

 **Files copied: 1237/1237**

"They forced a file copy without getting passed the lock screen?" Tristan asked

"It's possible, but the files will still be encrypted." Fields nodded "They must have some pretty good tech to pull that off."

"Agreed, we should take the hard drive back with us." Emmer noted as Tristan bent down in front of the console. "It's worth a shot to see if we can crack it."

Tristan already had the front cover off of the computer before Emmer could even finish her statement. But as his hand reached inside for the hard drive, it brushed up against something else. The soft rustle of papers shifted his focus and his hand went further in.

"I'm starting to think I'm a lot luckier than I used to be." Tristan chuckled as he pulled a small notebook out of the computer. "Think this is important?"

A/N

Woah boy is this one late. I know I wrote the Halloween special, but frankly that's not much of an excuse in my book. I do have a better one though, I was panicking about school stuff the past two months.

See I've been in the process of transferring to a better school for the rest of my academic career, there's nothing wrong with the one I'm at now but this new one is closer and has a much much better program for English Studies. Anyway, the process almost took a nose dive when the college lost my transcripts and my medical records. So I had to go request new ones of each, including my old high school transcripts. I barely managed to get everything sent in and then had to wait for the decision to be made, not knowing if they got my information back in time before the deadline. So I'm panicking for about a month and a half to the point where my coworkers, who I don't see outside of work, know something is off.

But, but but but, it all worked out! I got the confirmation the other night and have been in such a good mood I finally finished this chapter and am now rambling in the author's note. Can you tell I'm excited? Cause I'm really excited. And relieved. But mostly excited.

Sorry the chapter is short as Tristan's often are, but this arc with him has proves interesting. Crime mysteries aren't something I saw myself doing so I'm really outside my box here. Let me know if I'm doing alright, cause part of me is researching and part of me is winging this whole arc with Tristan. I have a plan, I know the murderer, their motive, and the resolution, but writing it out feels a lot different than what I usually do if that makes sense.

Next chapter we're back to Nickole, and then shortly after that Kobalt's next chapter will be out. I planned these little arcs out before I started writing them, and with Kobalt's I kept flowing into the next chapter so his are pretty close to being done and will come out quickly after the rest.

Okay any longer the the A/N will start getting longer than the chapter itself. Sorry again, hope you enjoy!

Oh and get ready for one of the new stories to come out soon, it's almost ready!

2nd update on 11/9/18 just realized my break lines aren't going through between scenes. Im going to try a few things to get them working, if you don't see them let me know.

In the meantime; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like it. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'l see you next time!


	50. Chapter 50: Interrogations

Kobalt knew an interrogation room when he was in one. It didn't matter that there were windows on one side or that he was in one of the nicer military buildings in Atlas. Between the empty white walls, clean silver table, and oppositely placed chairs it was obvious what this room was meant to be. It was more subtle than what Atlas likely claimed was their 'official' interrogation room, but that didn't change what it was. That being said, it was far more polite than he was expecting. Given his past Kobalt nearly expected armed guards or mechs, it wasn't like the General didn't know who he was. Which told him something interesting, Ironwood was playing nice.

Not nice enough to give Kobalt his full attention however, he had been sitting the room for a solid half hour now. If things were important enough that the General of Atlas's armed forces needed to talk to him then Kobalt could venture a guess as to what it was. Which meant Ironwood should be here already. But as the door to the room hissed open, Kobalt realized he must've finally arrived. Wearing a suit much like Kobalt's own formal wear only white, and with a set of gold insignias on his collar where Kobalt pinned his Vytal Stars. His hair was swept to the side with the tiniest hint of grey on the sides, a sign of his stress most likely, James Ironwood wasn't even fifty yet. Either that or he was really unlucky when it came to his hair.

"Mr. Ward, apologies for the delay." The General said as he stepped into the room, two other people with him. One seemed to be a standard Atlas soldier, the other Kobalt knew without a doubt was a specialist. "There were a few things I felt you might be able to shed light on, it took time to gather them."

As if to punctuate this the soldier beside him lifted a large metal case up and set it down on the table.

"No worries General." Kobalt stood up, extending his hand. Ironwood took it without hesitation, and for the briefest of moments Kobalt felt like his hand was inside a vice grip. And then he squeezed back, noticing the mildly surprised look on the General's face.

"It's good to see you as well Miss Schnee." Kobalt added, nodding to the specialist, now dressed in her combat gear.

"Mr. Ward." Winter replied, respectfully inkling her head.

"So what can I do for you General?" Kobalt asked "I can't imagine you go and chat with every Huntsman in training that shows up in Atlas. Even if they were part of an incident on the freeway."

"That 'incident' destroyed a major part of said freeway." Ironwood added taking a seat and motion for Kobalt to do the same. "But we can easily tell who is to blame for that. No I was hoping to get your confirmation on something."

"And that would be…" Kobalt trailed off.

"These." The General stated plainly, flicking the locks on the case and throwing it open. Kobalt wasn't surprised to see the gear he had fought against less than an hour ago. Rifles, a set of body armor, and a single rocket launcher.

"Given your background, I was wondering if you could positively identify these." Ironwood added "Their advancement is a couple years old in the military, but still recent enough to not be accessible to citizens."

"Yes because I'm sure there are no Atlas personnel dealing under the table." Kobalt rolled his eyes, but his attention was quickly turned back to the weapons. "Are you sure? I was under the impression information about my background was restricted." He said with a not so subtle look at Winter.

"It's fine, given what just happened I was going to declassify that information for my specialists." Ironwood sighed as the standard soldier backed out of the room. "That is, of course, if your able to identify these items."

"They're Black Knight gear alright." Kobalt said, standing up and pulling one of rifles out of the case. "I'd recognize this tech anywhere, I can prove it further if you need me to."

"By all means Mr. Ward." The General motioned for him to continue.

"Kobalt please." He added with a sigh, directed more at the weapon in his hands than the man sitting across from him. "I'm sure you've noticed the design is much different than Atlas weaponry. Its edges are rounder and more streamlined than Atlas tech, in place of an all-purpose battery it still uses magazines with Dust rounds."

"Hence why I said less advanced" The General nodded

"But not as much as you might think." Kobalt shook his head "One thing about magazines is that they allow for variety, different ammo types and what not. Most Atlas weapons can't do that. Besides…" Kobalt pulled the magazine out and tossed it to Ironwood "You tell me that Dust round isn't going to do major damage."

The General said nothing, but hummed in agreement as he hefted the magazine, inspecting the size of the chamber and likely guessing at the rounds that went in it.

"Its barrel is also longer than most automatic rifles, non-energy based ones that is. Black Knight operations are quick and quiet, the extra length increases accuracy in situations where precision is favored over fire rate." Kobalt went on "But it's old, hence the longer barrel. More recent Black Knight rifles have their magazines loaded behind the grip, increasing barrel length without weapon length and weight."

"Old? How old?" Ironwood perked up

"Seven years at least, maybe more." Kobalt shrugged setting the rifle back down. "I recognize the model from when I began training in longer ranged firearms. There's a chance they were old even when I first learned."

"Seven years old and as advanced as weaponry we had two years ago." The General sighed "How is this even possible."

"Black Knight has resources that would leave you dumbfounded." Kobalt shook his head "Plus the Chairman is clever enough to poach some of the brightest when it comes to weapons development."

"This Black Knight, what exactly are they?" Winter asked, drawing attention back to herself "Some kind of rouge element?"

"Last chance General, I can answer that or not if you want me to." Kobalt offered, the decision to reveal Black Knight, to specialists alone or not, was not an easy decision. A fact Ironwood clearly understood, as he weighed the decision for more than a few moments.

"Go ahead." He decided at last, locking his fingers together as he rested his arms on the table.

"Understood." Kobalt nodded "Black Knight is a paramilitary organization independent of the four kingdoms with its own goals in mind." He began "They have numerous bases scattered across Remnant, and conduct research and experiments on warfare technology. Their main goal is to usurp control of the four kingdoms and rule themselves."

Winter was understandably shocked with the revelation Kobalt had just given her. In fact it was the first reaction Kobalt would've listed as normal he'd seen to the reveal of Black Knight's existence since he told his team. Ozpin, Midori, even Goodwitch had taken it rather well. Perhaps they all saw the signs of something brewing in the shadows, or maybe they had seen enough that one more rouge organization was nothing new to them.

"How do you know so much about them?" Winter began "Were you…"

"Part of them?" Kobalt concluded "Yeah, I was recruited when I was seven years old and put into a special program. They told me I'd be made into a hero to save countless lives, but what they wanted was a living weapon."

"Part of me still cannot believe the things they did to you." Ironwood sighed "I've made a lot of difficult choices in my time as General, but to experiment on a child…" he visibly shuddered at the thought.

"I signed up for it." Kobalt added without a second thought, the last thing he wanted right now was pity.

"What do you mean experiment?" Winter asked, Kobalt figured she would've raised an eyebrow if she was physically capable of raising them further.

"Cellular and physiological modification for starters, minor changes to his genetics as well. Muscular enhancements and experimental disruption of his Aura. Glad to see the last one has been fixed." An all too familiar voice chimed in, as its owner walked into the room. It had been some time, but Kobalt rarely forgot a face, let alone the doctor who had examined the scans Nickole's family had done on him after his memory began resurfacing.

"Dr. Cole, I certainly wasn't expecting to see you here." Kobalt said with barely hidden interest.

"For the brief time I was examining your file I had you marked as a patient." She explained "With my clearance I was notified the moment you were brought here, as I should be with any of my patients."

"I wasn't aware you still treated people Sienna." Ironwood mused

"I do not, but Kobalt here is a special case." Dr. Cole shrugged "I agreed to analyze his medical report and was most interested. I am more than willing to make a sacrifice for one such as him."

"So sorry to be a burden." Kobalt rolled his eyes.

"Quite the opposite, though my diagnostic skills are not quite what they were I assure my surgical skills are improving every day." She smiled "I take a sense of pride knowing I'd be one of the few surgeons on Remnant who could operate on you with no issue. I am still a doctor after all, I still have a code. I merely don't accept patients not worth my time."

"Well since he doesn't need surgery, might I ask why you're here?" Winter asked

"Curiosity." Dr. Cole shrugged "Besides, my clearance as his doctor gave me access to all kinds of things. None of this is news to me."

"Remind me to have that kind of clearance revoked." Ironwood mumbled under his breath, it was so quite Kobalt barely caught it, and he was sitting right across from the man. "Very well Doctor you may stay for the time being, until such time as Mr. Ward does not wish you presence. You may continue onto the other items Kobalt."

"Not much to tell, you already know they're Black Knight tech." Kobalt shrugged

"That may be so, but I'll take as much intel on these people as I can get." Ironwood added "Other than their existence and capabilities from what you've told us we know very little."

"Fair enough." Kobalt nodded "Not much to tell about the body armor, it's not as old but still not new. Based off my original set back when it was a prototype, it can take a good amount of abuse but sustained fire will whittle it down."

"And the launcher?"

"That's where things get interesting, unlike the rest of the gear it's newer." Kobalt admitted "I don't know why Black Knight would let common criminals get a hold of their gear, but I'm even more surprised they got such an advanced launcher model."

"How advanced?" Winter asked

"Two years old at least, could be a newer modification even, Black Knight is far from wasteful." Kobalt said, briefly noticing the way Ironwood's eyes drifted behind him. If he were to guess he was picturing worst case scenarios while Winter absorbed or even recorded all this information. "The launcher is outfitted to fire a variety of charges with minimal load time. It can fire anything from a guided missile, to a charge shaped to breach or penetrate armor."

At that the General's eyes went wide, and lunged across the table to tackle Kobalt. He might've resisted in some way, were it not for the glimpse of pure panic Kobalt caught on Ironwood's face as he did so.

"Get down!" Ironwood shouted as he covered Kobalt with his own body. He barely had time to react or engage his Aura before he felt the room shake violently as a blast erupted above him. He briefly heard the General utter a groan of pain before he was silenced by the noise of the blast. It all happened in less than a second, and Kobalt had to shove Ironwood off himself so he could move again. When he stood up he noticed the fading white knight's shield that had protected Winter and Dr. Cole. When Winter noticed the General's state she rushed to his side, only find him as unconscious as Kobalt knew he would be from the attack.

"This is Specialist Schnee requesting medical aid in room three forty seven!" she shouted into her com unit. "General Ironwood is injured."

"I can stabilize him for now." Dr. Cole added

"Medics are on their way." Kobalt heard a voice from her speakers "What are we doing about the attacker?"

Kobalt nodded briefly as Winter looked up at him, he was already moving for the giant hole left in the wall where the windows had once been.

"We have a Huntsman in pursuit." Winter confirmed as he burst out the gap and outside.

Kobalt's eyes quickly scanned the rooftops as he reached the buildings across the street, looking for whoever had attacked them. They quickly settled on a crouched form on the adjacent roof holding the very same launcher Kobalt was just explaining. The figure looked briefly at Kobalt before he pushed himself up and sprinting across the rooftops away from him. But Kobalt's jump wasn't enough to clear the entire distance to the rooftop, instead it left him reaching out to grab a windowsill on the opposite building. With a quick pull he threw himself up the side of the building and rolled to one knee at the top, taking a moment to find his target again. The man was hauling along faster than Kobalt expected him to, already at the next building over. Kobalt felt his muscles tense and half a second later he was barreling right after the man.

Under most circumstances Kobalt probably could've reached his target in half the time it was going to take right now. But his ears were still ringing from the blast, he was disoriented, and it had affected his jump and his speed. He shook his head and tried to focus, reminding himself that even disoriented he would still catch his target in time. He was gaining on the runner already, a hand reached up to grab his sword as he closed in.

And then the person he was chasing turned around.

The first thing Kobalt noticed was that his target was clearly male, with a short fuzzy beard. The next thing he noticed was that the man had lifted the launcher and had just pulled the trigger.

His instincts saved him from taking the explosion full on, but not by much. His hand was already resting on Arondight when the rocket began streaking towards him. Unfortunately with how close he was, and with his disorientation, he made the mistake of attempting to deflect the rocket into the ground. It worked, but not as he would've like. He drew the blade, flipping his grip on it and raising it next to his head to deflect the rocket. The light angle altered the rocket's course behind him, and down. It exploded a few feet behind him, knocking him off the ground and onto his face.

"Damnit." Kobalt mumbled as he pushed himself back up, the ringing in his ears was even louder now but he kept on running. Taking a deep breath he forced his Aura throughout his body, letting it surge naturally without his semblance. He could feel it healing his body and the throbbing pain he felt was quickly reduced to a dull one. His Aura had cleared off the shock and brought him back into focus instantly. It felt almost like someone had doused him in cold water before lighting his stomach on fire. In a good way.

As his strength slowly started coming back Kobalt began picking up the pace as he chased his attacker. The man was dashing across the rooftops with little to no grace, hell it looked like he was running from a stray dog. Kobalt caught sight of him looking over his shoulder, noting a brief flash of surprise on his face. He quickly picked up his pace, trying to put distance between himself and Kobalt, to no avail. Kobalt was hardly having any trouble closing in now.

After a few moments the man seemed to realize this too, and he turned around again raising the launcher. This time however, Kobalt had expected it. It was almost disappointing how predictable this guy was being. Of course, he was used to dealing with civilians or criminals, definitely not Huntsmen.

He fired the rocket again, and as it went streaking towards Kobalt he leaned to the left to dodge. Before it could pass him completely and explode however, Kobalt reached out with his semblance encasing the rocket in a bubble of his Aura. He spun on his heel, redirecting the rocket back towards the man who fired it as he dissipated the bubble. He barely had time to dive for the ground before the rocket exploded right behind him. He was still in midair when it went off, and the explosion propelled him right into Kobalt, who brought his right arm up to close line the man before he flew passed him. Kobalt grabbed his collar before he could hit the ground and yanked him up quickly.

"Alright start talking, who are you and what do you want?" Kobalt demanded as he lifted the man up higher.

"Glatteis, John Glatteis!" the man all but screamed "I'll tell you everything! Boss said to take you out!"

"Me?" Kobalt asked "Why me, do you have any idea who was in that room with me?"

"Some Atlas official whaddo I care?"

"Some Atlas official?" Kobalt blinked "That was General Ironwood."

"Oh. Shit." Glatteis muttered as his face went pale.

"Yeah no kidding." Kobalt sighed before fixing Glatteis with a harsh look. "I think you, the General, and I are going to have a very long chat."

"Oh god."

"You know you're the second person to say that to me tonight." Kobalt added "I'm not feeling as nice as I was last time."

Without another word Kobalt brought his other fist down on Glatteis's forehead, knocking him out cold before throwing the man over his shoulder. He was about to head back to the Winter and the General when he looked down at the rocket launcher on the ground. He picked it up and instinctively pressed the mechanism to collapse it before clipping it onto his belt.

 _Whoever these guys are they've got a decent amount of Black Knight gear._ Kobalt thought as he made his way back. _I might want to get a bit more firepower, just in case._

His free hand reached for the scroll in his pocket, pulling it out and dialing his grandfather's number.

"Ah Kobalt, how did your meeting with Apri go?" Sterling asked "You've been there for a long time."

"It's a long story, a few things happened on my way back." Kobalt told him "I'll explain later, are they ready?"

"Harmony is putting the finishing coat on them now." Sterling added, worry and elation in his voice at the same time. "It shouldn't be more than half an hour. What happened?"

"I'll explain when you get here, as soon as they're done bring them to the Atlas Military office downtown." Kobalt went on "Sorry if this causes some problems."

"It's nothing to worry about my boy." Sterling insisted "You're not in trouble are you?"

"No, no I'm not." Kobalt said, sparing a quick look at Glatteis's unconscious form thrown over his shoulder. "But someone is about to be."

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"Geez I thought he was telling me everything before," Kobalt muttered as he left an actual interrogation room. "But one stern look from you and he was spilling his guts without us even asking anything."

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." Winter shrugged, a half step behind him as she closed the door. Kobalt might've been imagining it, but he could swear she was fighting back a smile as she walked up next to him.

"I didn't get a chance to ask when I got back, but the General…" Kobalt began.

"Is fine, the explosion simply knocked him out." Winter explained as he trailed off. "Dr. Cole confirmed he was fine before the medics even showed up."

"Good to hear." Kobalt breathed a sigh of relief. Having heard these criminals were targeting him left him feeling responsible for the General's condition.

"We should be delivering our report to him now." Winter added taking the lead and directing them further inside the building.

"He's awake?" Kobalt asked

"Of course, he engaged his Aura before tackling you in order to shield you from the blast." Winter simply nodded as the finally approached what seemed to be their destination.

"Come in specialist." Ironwood's voice called after a short knock on the door from Winter. Kobalt followed her through the door to see the General sitting behind a desk, a small pack of ice held to his head.

"Kobalt I hear we have you to thank for apprehending our assailant." Ironwood nodded to him as he stepped in place next to Winter, opting to cross his arms rather than stand at attention like her.

"Consider it thanks for keeping me from being blown up." Kobalt shrugged with a slight grin. If an ice pack was all the medicine the General needed, Kobalt felt he could relax a little bit.

"And here I was led to believe you were a bit more restrained by Specialist Schnee." Ironwood added with an amused look on his face.

"Ozpin and Leandros haven't said anything about me?" Kobalt scoffed, drawing a brief chuckle from the General.

"A fair point, but for now we should focus on the task at hand." Ironwood steeled himself. "Report?"

"After a brief interrogation we were able to determine that a gang of criminals known as—" Winter began.

"General!" a soldier saluted from the hall, causing Winter to shoot Kobalt a stern look as he merely mouthed 'oops'. He had forgotten to close the door in the way in.

"Sterling Grace is here to see Mr. Ward sir." The soldier explained "Sorry for the disruption but he insisted it was urgent."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised my grandfather found out about all this." Kobalt shrugged, the lie rolling off his tongue more easily than he thought it would. "Sorry General, but Winter should be able to handle the report without me. I'd like to explain things to my grandfather and make sure he gets home safe."

"Very well." Ironwood waved his hand "I will be calling on you tomorrow however."

"I suppose that's fair." Kobalt nodded as he approached the door.

"General if I may—" Winter tried to interrupt.

"You may not," Ironwood stopped her "I think this young man has had enough for one night. Let's give him a chance to rest."

"Yes sir." Winter said through gritted teeth. Kobalt had barely made it into the hallway when it slammed closed, a large black glyph similar to Nickole's runes resting on it.

Kobalt wasted no time speeding down to the ground level and out the building. He needed less than a second to spot his grandfather waiting for him, leaning on the side of his car tapping his arm patiently.

"I thought you said there wouldn't be any trouble following you to Atlas." Sterling spoke up as Kobalt approached.

"None did." He said quickly "In the car now, we need to get moving."

"Kobalt what is going on?" Sterling asked as they rushed into the car, turning more serious than Kobalt had seen the man in the past few days.

"Remember how I saved Hazel Nut the other night?" Kobalt asked, signaling for the driver to get going. "Well it looks like I pissed off some pretty well connected criminals in the process."

"Great, no wonder you had me bring these." Sterling sighed, patting the large steel briefcase that sat next to him.

He quickly laid in on the ground between them and slid it over to Kobalt, who for once was glad for the space in his grandfather's car. It gave him more than enough room flick the locks on the case and open it up. A set of stands spread out from the bottom as the case opened up turning it into a small table, just big enough to fit in the car. Sitting inside the case was a pair of gauntlets, very similar to the ones Kobalt was currently wearing. Same black color with blue lights lining the edges, only these were smoother and shaped more like traditional armor. What really stood out was the way the plates were segmented, there was a prominent line vertically running up the sides of each gauntlet. Long and thin, running straight until taking a sharp inward angle and straighten back out to reach the top.

Kobalt wasted no time removing his old gauntlets and replacing them with his new ones. Once they were secured in place Kobalt felt the mechanisms inside whir as they adjusted themselves to his form. A smiled wormed its way onto Kobalt's lips as he saw the plates briefly shift, preparing themselves for any future transformations.

"I take it the night's not quite over yet is it?" Sterling asked as Kobalt marveled at the gauntlets.

"Not quite no." Kobalt admitted

"As much as you remind me of my daughter, you're a lot more like your father than you think. I have him to thank for the grey in my hair." Sterling sighed "There's usually more ceremony when I deliver a weapon, but I don't think you'll have time for all that. Have you thought of a name for them?"

Kobalt's smile grew as he nodded.

"Antares, the Antares Gauntlets."

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A/N

Soooo, you know how I said 50 was going to be a Nickole chapter? Sorry about that, I've been having a rough time figuring out how I want that chapter to go. It's different from a lot of the other stuff I've written in that it's almost purely a training chapter with Nickole teaching her younger brother and realizing a few things about herself along the way. Problem is, I can't seem to come up with a way I like for those things to happen. I've been stuck for the entirety of the past month. Which is not like me.

Fortunately, this chapter and the next Kobalt focused one were really easy for me to come up with. And I have a very clear idea as to where Tristan's story is heading, with Justin also playing a role in it. I pretty much have Kobalt's entire story arc planned out scene by scene with about half of it written. I honestly didn't think Nickole's would give me so much trouble either.

Anyway I'm going to be focusing pretty hard on Nickole's chapter for the next few weeks, but with the Holidays coming up I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get done. It's busy enough for me as far as family goes, but throw work on top of that? Yeah, I'm gonna be a mess. But on the bright side I'll get to see some family I haven't seen in a long time, so I can't really complain. And who knows, maybe a conversation with my brother or my little cousin will help me figure out how to handle Nickole's chapter. You can bet I'll bring my laptop with me so writing will get done if I get an idea.

In the meantime; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like it. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'l see you next time!


	51. Chapter 51: Rising Wind

Training, Nickole decided, was one thing. Teaching was a whole other thing entirely. Over the course of the past week she had developed a new found sense of respect for all the various teachers at the combat academies. How they took someone with next to no combat experience and helped mold them into truly capable warriors she had no idea, how Auburn had done so with her she couldn't even fathom. In fact, Nickole was pretty certain the only reason he was able to teach her anything was because he fought the same way she did. Or at least, the same way he used to.

Aurelian on the other hand, was after a much different style of fighting than her, their older brother, and even their father. The only person who fought even close to her little brother's current 'style', if she could call it that, was Kobalt. And the only similarity there was the use of a sword in one hand. While Kobalt was no doubt fast, unlike Aurelian it wasn't his focus. His expertise was making use of his overwhelming power and swordsmanship as well his ability to alter the flow of the battle so that he was always in control. It was remarkable really, and eerily similar to the way Nickole approached a battle herself. Not quite as methodical as her style, more instinctual in all honesty, she wasn't even sure he knew he was doing it, but it spoke to his experience. It was actually that thought that gave Nickole her first idea on how to train her little brother. She had nearly forgotten how Kobalt had found each of their weaknesses back when school started and began training one on one to fix them. Justin needed to be able to move faster, Tristan needed to learn how to use a sword, and Nickole herself needed experience fighting someone above her. So that became her first goal, find her baby brother's weaknesses the same way Kobalt found all theirs. Sparring.

* * *

"Come on little brother!" Nickole encouraged as she kept her shield up. "If you want to be an aggressive fighter you have to be able to land a hit!"

Aurelian said nothing, he merely focused on breathing as he kept up the assault he'd been focusing on the past few minutes. He rushed back in, sword cutting in from the right. He was fast, but even with the training weights Nickole was wearing she had little difficulty moving her shield in place to catch the strike. He kept his moment from the attack and spun on his feet, bringing the sword back in on Nickole's left only for her own blade to parry his. Lian lost his balance as Nickole deflected his strike and him to the side, sending him tumbling down to the ground.

"You need to work on your speed." Nickole instructed, returning to a defensive stance as her brother stood up. "And your attacks are too telegraphed, it wastes energy and makes you easy to defend against."

"Maybe for you." Lian huffed, pushing himself to his feet and resting his hands on his knees.

"Maybe we should take a break." Nickole suggested, relaxing her stance and moving over to her brother.

"No." He shook his head, taking a low stance with the grip on his blade flipped around. "I can keep going."

"You're at your limit baby brother." Nickole sighed "Did I tell dad tell you to respect you're limits?"

"Did you tell me to push them if I wanted to get stronger?" Lian shot back with a grin.

"Fair enough." Nickole chuckled, mind running as fast as it could to think of how he could improve.

His technique needed plenty of work, but he was just starting so that was to be expected. Right now her priority should really be conditioning, getting his body ready for the kind of training he really needed. In truth it was his body that was holding him back, much the same as it held Nickole or anyone else back when the first began training. Despite the trials their father had put them through, and despite the exercise, huntsmen level training was something else entirely. Aura played as much a part in it as anything else, allowing the trainee to handle more than normal people.

Nickole nearly smacked herself in the face as that thought crossed her mind. She had unlocked her brother's Aura so he could actually train, but she hadn't trained him to use it other than engaging it.

"Alright if we're going to keep at it, then we need to shift our focus a little bit." Nickole spoke up at last "Time for a little Aura training."

"Aura, seriously?" Lian raised an eyebrow "I thought we were going to focus on offense."

"Aura plays more than just a defensive role." Nickole scolded, flicking her brother on his forehead and watching the silver light of his Aura rush to protect him. "You have to stop thinking of it as just a force field. It's as much internal as it is external."

"I don't understand." Lian shook his head

"It's the manifestation of your soul, there's a lot more to it." Nickole pointed out "But to a degree we will still be focusing on the protection aspect of it."

"Okay, where do we start?" Lian asked, paying close attention.

"Think about Aura, how it takes the strain we can't." Nickole explained "That extends to more than just attacks on our person."

"You mean like poison?" he asked

"No not like poison." Nickole laughed "Aura only really handle physical strain, but there is more than one kind of strain our bodies experience. There's internal strain as well."

"Ohh you mean like a pulled muscle or something like that." Lian realized, quickly putting two and two together.

"Bingo." Nickole beamed "A nice little trick I used while I was stuck in that cast was how to let my Aura handle the internal strain of my body."

"Okay, so how does that help me?" Lian wondered, not indignant but genuinely curious. As trait Nickole found incredibly endearing.

"Simple. Take a deep breath, relax, and tell me how you feel." Nickole instructed "Physically."

"My arms and legs feel like lead." Lian groaned after a moment, the tiny bit of adrenaline he had leaving his system. "How long have we been at this again?"

"About two hours." Nickole shrugged "Your body just isn't ready for the amount of training your mind wants."

"That…sucks." Lian whined loudly, stretching out the last words with a long breath.

"Yeah, that's your muscles trying to adjust to your new level of activity." Nickole went on "It'll get better as you grow and start getting used to training at this level, but for now we have a bit of a shortcut."

"Aura."

"Right again." Nickole smiled "You're going to let it take the strain your body can't, which is going to open up a lot of training options as far as combat goes."

"So how do I do it?" He asked quickly

"Simple, sorta, you know that feeling you get when you engage your Aura?" Nickole began "I want you to imagine that feeling throughout your whole body, not just the surface, everywhere. In your arms, legs, chest, every last little bit."

Lian didn't say anything, he merely nodded before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. A moment later Nickole watched as his Aura flared, the glowing outline of silver burning brighter for a moment before disappearing once more.

"Winds that already feel better." Lian sighed in relief

"Yeah it does, and here's good part: with your Aura handling the strain your body can go beyond its normal limits for a little bit." Nickole explained "Nothing major, but it's pretty good for fighting past your breaking point."

"So what's the catch?" Lian asked knowingly "This can't be as simple as you make it sound."

"You're right, since your Aura is taking the strain your body doesn't have to repair itself." Nickole told him "That means your muscle won't grow. Or heal for that matter, I only did this for my legs while I was moving. It also drains your Aura reserves pretty quick."

"Which means it's useless for strength training." Lian nodded "Makes sense, otherwise everyone would use this all the time."

"It's not completely useless, we're finding a use for it right now." Nickole chuckled "Though some people have a more…refined version of it. There are a few special cases of people using something like this for actual combat."

"Really, like who?"

"Well there's Kobalt. With his semblance he floods his entire body in his Aura raw energy. He calls it 'overdrive'." Nickole stated, chuckling at her boyfriend's silly choice of name. "It amplifies his strength, but at a huge cost."

"When he burst into flames in the finals!" Lian exclaimed, eyes flashing as he thought back to the tournament. Like the little kid he was, Lian had been re-watching all the tournament fights in his free time. "His Aura dropped like a stone! That was it wasn't it?"

"Mmhmm." Nickole hummed "Don't forget though, your Aura is dropping like a stone too. So maybe we should get back to training."

"Right." Aurelian smirked, taking a few steps back and settling into a low stance.

Nickole readied herself and raised her shield, expecting her baby brother to come at her with the same energy from when they started. She wasn't not prepared for him to rush her even faster than when they started. True the Aura trick would let him push past his limits, but he should still be feeling some strain. She figured at the very least he'd feel like normal, and this was definitely not normal.

His blade flashed on her left, and Nickole struggled to move fast enough to catch it with her training weights on. Her own sword came up to block rather than her normal parry, and in the short space of time where the swords were locked Nickole could swear she saw a look of awe on her brother's face. It vanished a moment later, and he pulled his blade back only to strike out again almost instantly. He spun on his toes as Nickole used her shield to stop the attack, bringing his sword in from down low this time, forcing Nickole to take a step back. She raised her shield expecting Lian to follow up the attack and was met with the sound of his sword ringing against it. Her own sword lashed out, slicing the air where he had been a moment ago as Lian ducked. She dropped her fist, slamming the top of his head with the pommel of her sword and making him stumble back a few feet.

Realizing he'd be coming back even harder now, Nickole's mind started racing. As good as it might be for him to win, that didn't mean she had to take it too easy on him. The training weights would be enough of a handicap for now, but her mind was hardly slowed down by those. Watching his thrust come in, Nickole parried it down and to the left fully expecting him to use his momentum to spin again and strike out. Her shield was up before he even turned, and as his swing crashed against it Nickole dropped her shoulder and drove it into Lian's chest. The force was enough to knock him down but he rolled with it, springing back up onto his feet a second later.

Nickole couldn't help the proud smirk that wormed its way on her face, he really was improving quickly. But he still had a little ways to go. He was completely ignoring the benefit of fighting with a single handed weapon, his other was free. And it was more than just the blade one carried that could be used as a weapon, a person's entire body could as well. It was something Nickole knew long before Beacon, but she'd had a hard time implementing it into her own fighting style when she first arrived there.

Now? Well she felt safe saying she could hold her own far better than she used to. And what better time to show it off than teaching her baby brother?

Letting Lian advance on her again, Nickole raised her blade as he swung and the two swords locked together as her little brother tried to force his way through her guard. It was a bad idea in the first place, and that was quickly starting to dawn on Lian he was training to fight with speed not strength. He started to ease back slowly, likely intent on using Nickole's on force against her and making her overextend. It wasn't a bad idea, in fact if he had been a little faster and she hadn't done so herself it might've worked. Instead he recoiled in pain as Nickole's forehead met his own, jolting his head back as she tried to keep from chuckling. It was quite what she had in mind when she talked about her head being her strongest weapon, but for now it would do.

"Cheap shot." Lian whined as he rubbed his forehead.

"You'd do well to learn there's no such thing." Nickole hummed, ready herself for another rush. After all, it wasn't her job to land a hit on him.

Lian grumbled as he ran back at her, staying low to the ground and bringing his sword in low, aiming for her legs. She stepped back and out of range of his first swipe, using her sword to parry the second. She brought it back up quickly as he tried to swing for her head a moment later. His thin blade bounced off her wider broadsword, sending sparks flying with the force he put into it. Nickole was impressed when he didn't break his stride, even if he went exactly where she intended. He spun as the blade bounced, once again aiming for her right side where she was able to raise her shield.

Nickole had to angle her shield to block his strike and smiled as he pushed down on it to lift himself up. He seemed to be taking her less than subtle hints well as he tried to bring his foot down on her head. Unfortunately she knew he was a smart kid, more than capable of picking up on things and was more than ready for some new kind of attack. With his blade generating the force he needed to propel himself upwards, he wasn't ready to use it for an attack. Nickole quickly slipped her shield out from under his sword, making his whole body drop faster than he was ready for. Letting go of her own sword, Nickole's hand shot up and grabbed onto his leg before it could come in contact with her head. She pulled him in as she brought her shield close to her chest, bashing him with it once he was practically on top of it. With the training weights on she didn't pull her punch and Lian went flying across the room, landing hard on his back.

"Owwww." Her little brother groaned as he tried to sit up, his Aura flickering as it died out.

"Much better." Nickole beamed as she looked at the clock on the wall. "I think you lasted twice as long this time around."

"I'm going to feel that one tomorrow." He added as she walked over and helped him up.

"Oh you say that every time, you still haven't given up." she reminded him with a light tap on the shoulder.

"Maybe that's because you're actually training me." Lian suggested, no doubt referring to their father. "Dad's a really bad teacher."

"Yeah, but that's dad." Nickole shrugged, pulling off the training weights. Her muscles ached as they thudded onto the floor, she was probably going to be a little sore herself. But she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to progress a little before heading to Beacon back in a few months. Nickole had no plans of staying as far behind Kobalt as she was. Speaking of…

"Good place to call it, you're just going to hurt yourself more without Aura." Nickole added as her mind shifted to her other goal for the break. "You're doing well so far, no point impeding progress."

"Yeah, I'm going to sleep." Aurelian yawned as he slowly stumbled out of the dojo.

Despite how exhausted he was, Nickole noticed he stood a little taller on his way out. Her big sister instincts took over for a moment as she realized he was just standing taller, he _was_ taller. Her baby brother was finally growing up. She was honestly starting to get worried, he was almost twelve and he was still so short. But it looked like he was finally hitting his growth spurt. _I wonder if his Aura helped with that?_

"You're doing well with him." A voice spoke up from the opposite door Lian just walked out of. Nickole turned to see her older brother wheeling into the room, despite being indoors he was dressed warmly with a thick coat and scarf.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to have him break records." Auburn smiled.

"Well, it wouldn't be a bad thing if he did." Nickole admitted, frankly she was just proud of how well he was advancing. Records hadn't had anything to do with it. Yet.

"Part of me still can't believe he's even training, you know?" Her older brother added "I look at him and I still see that little kid I used to laugh and chase around the yard in this chair."

"Well it's not like that was all too long ago." She reminded him as she walked behind him and started pushing his wheelchair down the hall. "You ever get like that with me?"

"Not anymore I don't." Auburn laughed as he nodded his head in the direction of the ops center. She had a feeling he was heading that way, and let him push open the outside door as she braced herself for the cold. "You grew up too fast for me to be able to."

"I didn't grow up _that_ fast." Nickole protested.

"From your point of view maybe." Auburn argued "For me my little sister went from reading in the library to training with dad in all of a week."

"Well from my point of view I didn't have much choice." Nickole rapped him on the back of the head. "Someone went and got a little too close to a secret organization."

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Her brother chuckled.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't." Nickole admitted "I don't think I ever asked but…what exactly where you looking into when they decided to uhh…"

"Brought the hammer down?" Auburn finished for her "I was looking into a few missing persons reports, scientists and the like. And a few reports of attacks on facilities assumed to be Atlas bases, only for Atlas to state there had been no attacks."

"What did you think was happening?" Nickole wondered as they reached the ops center.

"I was worried Atlas was gearing up for war. Publically denying the existence of bases they were setting up for invasions." Auburn explained "Given new information it seems it was Black Knight, possibly early bases."

"What makes you say early?"

"The fact that those attacks stopped not long after I started looking into them." He went on. "I suspected Atlas for a short while, but then one of the people who went missing was a major Atlesian scientist. After that the trail went cold."

"They must've gotten better at covering their tracks." Nickole nodded "I can't help but wonder what would've happened if Kobalt hadn't decided to leave."

"Then we'd be dealing with an organization bent on world conquest with one hell of a super soldier." Auburn noted "No point worrying though, thanks to the two of you and your team we know Black Knight is out there."

"Let's hope its enough." Nickole thought, she'd be double checking Kobalt's file to find out. Better safe than sorry.

* * *

A/N

So I think Ive mentioned how I have chapters that I mark for review at a later date? Yeah...This is one of them. Not sure how I feel about it, but frankly there's nothing here with major prevalence so I can change plenty if I need/think of something better.

And Im also sorry for how late this chapter is, some of you know I started up school again and between that, work, and small family stuff I fell behind on plenty. Writing was one of those things, but honestly it had to take the backseat with some of the stuff I was dealing with. Sleep deprivation among them, kinda my own fault. I tried getting stuff done ahead of time when I didnt need to and thought I had to or else. There was no or else, just me getting in my head.

Dont worry its all been taken care of and now Ive got more time to write, thank god cause I need the relaxation it brings.

In the meantime; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like it. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'l see you next time!


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